In-Bar Survey Favors Obama/Stewart Ticket in November
For the second time this year, the TouchTunes broadband jukebox network has been asking bar and restaurant patrons about their political leanings in connection with a registration campaign by Rock the Vote.
The latest results, produced three weeks before the election (and also before Wednesday’s final candidate debate) favor Barack Obama for the presidency and “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart for the vice presidential slot.
During the 10-day campaign from Sept. 22 through Oct. 1, 16,000 interactive screens in the TouchTunes network nationwide asked players choosing jukebox music to answer some multiple-choice questions about the candidates, the outstanding social issues and some off-the-wall stuff.
Democrat Obama was the popular choice for President during the promotion, with 36% of the total response of more than 43,000 votes. Twenty-three percent said they favored Republican John McCain, while 17% said they were still undecided. Almost as many—16%—said they did not plan to cast a vote this electoral season, and 7% said they would write in Texas Congressman Ron Paul, although he has declined to mount a third-party campaign after losing the Republican nomination.
Given a list of vice presidential choices that did not include either Gov. Sara Palin or Sen. Joe Biden, patrons split their vote evenly between Comedy Central faux newsman Stewart and daytime diva Oprah Winfrey; each got 27% of the vote for the number-two slot on the ticket.
Other veep contenders included talk -show host Jimmy Kimmel (25% of the vote) and Stephen Colbert and Angelina Jolie, each with 11%.
Asked to name an anthem for this year’s presidential campaign, TouchTunes voters gave the slight edge to David Bowie’s “Changes”, with a 28% response, over Pink Floyd’s “Money” (26%) and George Michael’s ”Faith” (20%).
Respondents were also asked to choose the song that best suited each candidate, and they picked the same tune—“Loser” by the band 3 Doors down—for each nominee (32% for Obama, 37% for McCain.) Other popular choices included Kanye West’s “champion”, Mariah Carey’s “Hero” and Ashley Simpson’s “Smart in a Stupid Way.”
Users were also given the chance to enter their e-mail addresses to request voter registration forms for their area from Rock the Vote, and more than 11,900 did so during the campaign.
“It has never been more important to get out the vote, TouchTunes chief marketing officer Ron Greenberg said in a release. “TouchTunes is in the position of being where lots of people spend a large amount of time—in bars and restaurants. We’re happy to use our fun, interactive systems to assist Rock the Vote in its mission.”
An earlier TouchTunes political survey campaign in late April-early May 2008 produced 10,000 e-mail requests for voter registration info from Rock the Vote. It also found majority of respondents (41%) saying they were most concerned with jobs and the economy during this coming election.
