To the many differences between Democrats and Republicans, add a new one that is particularly relevant at this time of year. Democrats and Republicans feel differently about the Super Bowl broadcast. According to G&R’s Annual Super Bowl Viewership Study[1], Republicans were 50% more likely than Democrats to identify the game itself as their favorite part of the broadcast, while Democrats were nearly twice as likely to identify the commercials that aired during the game and the half-time show as their favorite parts of the broadcast.
“Game-oriented” Republicans were more likely to feel there were too many commercials during the Super Bowl broadcast, while “show-oriented” Democrats were more likely to say that the Super Bowl had some of the best advertising they had seen.
Additionally, Democrats were twice as likely as Republicans to read or listen to commentary about Super Bowl advertising leading up to the broadcast, a third more likely to talk about advertising they just watched during the game, and twice as likely talk to friends about the commercials they liked after the game.
Interestingly, too, while Democrats and Republicans are similar in thinking about how recent controversies like the long-term effect of brain injuries on player health, accusations of domestic violence, and the level of pay that players receive today affect their interest in watching games, they are quite divided on the influence of player activism, particularly kneeling during the national anthem. Nearly one in two Republicans (46%) said it has decreased their interest in watching the game while four in ten Democrats (41%) said it had increased their interest in the game.
Some of this has to do with demographics. Republicans tend to be more male than female (in our sample 42% versus 29%) and older than younger (40% versus 31%) than Democrats. Our study showed them more likely to also be football fans (59% versus 37%).
It also has to do with attitudes. Our Study, which was conducted at the very beginning of the pandemic, showed Republicans were more likely than Democrats to feel that economic conditions were excellent or very good, and that the country was going in the right direction.
Perhaps most importantly, the finding also supports an underlying difference between members of the two parties in the social judgments they make about themselves and others. Research has shown that social judgments fall along two broad dimensions: Agency and Communion. Agency refers to goal achievement and task functioning, and it is related to self-oriented motivation. Examples of agentic traits include being ambitious, hardworking, focused, efficient, and so on. The agency dimension tends to be particularly important in self-perception. Communion refers to maintenance of relationships and social functioning, and it is related to other-oriented motivation. Examples of communal traits include being broad-minded, empathic, kind, fun-loving, and so on. The community dimension tends to be particularly important in perception of others. (See Abele and Wojciszke.) Other research has suggested that Republicans tend to be higher in Agency and Democrats higher in Communion (See Kimmo Erickson.) Our findings that Republicans are more game-oriented and Democrats are more show-oriented when they watch the Super Bowl broadcast and that Republicans have higher self-efficacy than Democrats in that they were more likely to feel that people can overcome any obstacle if they want (see chart below), further support the party-related Agency/Communion distinction.
No demographic, attitudinal or social judgment characteristic applies equally to all a group’s members. But establishing distinguishing markers that go beyond hot button issues … gives us a fuller understanding of how consequential those differences are and how they might be need to be bridged.
According to G&R President, Scott Purvis, “No demographic, attitudinal or social judgment characteristic applies equally to all a group’s members. But establishing distinguishing markers that go beyond hot button issues like abortion, law and order, and governmental power gives us a fuller understanding of how consequential those differences are and how they might be need to be bridged.”
Republican and Democrats have distinct profiles that go beyond traditional descriptors. Here, we saw that they can range even into how they consume universally liked programming like the Super Bowl, with Republicans being more game-oriented and perhaps more agency-centric, and Democrats being more show-oriented and perhaps more-communion centric. It will be interesting to see whether these markers change when the results from the 2021 study are in, given the consequences of the pandemic and the presidential election.
About G&R:
G&R is an advertising and marketing research company based in Pennington, New Jersey. Founded in 1948 by George Gallup and Claude Robinson, two of the pioneers in public opinion research, G&R helps leading companies understand the effectiveness of their advertising and improve its contribution to their business. For each of the last 25 years, the company has tracked the quality of Super Bowl advertising by polling viewers on the day after the game about commercials they remember, their reactions to them, and attitudes towards the viewing experience.
Press Contact:
Stefanie Dursin
(609) 730-1550
stefanie.dursin@admingrgandrllc-com
[1] Conducted on February 3, 2020, the day after Super Bowl LIV, among a rep online panel sample of 200 Super Bowl viewers.
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