FLEMINGTON, N.J., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- A new national focus group among 312 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and Independents, revealed that after viewing a new ad by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund regarding "Palin's Wildlife Record", there was moderate movement among all parties toward Barack Obama.

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The study was conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) on September 15, to obtain Americans' perceptions of a new ad which questions Governor Sarah Palin's record in regard to wildlife in Alaska.

"The ad which focuses on Governor Palin's record regarding the treatment of wildlife in Alaska seemed to strike a chord with voters," commented Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research. "The recent ads from both parties have had little impact among voters. This is the first ad in over a month that seems to have broken through," he added.

Among the study findings:

The ad earned Barack Obama a Political Communications Impact Score (PCIS) of 29.4 and John McCain received a score of 5.9, resulting in a net score of 23.5 for Barack Obama. The scores can be compared to a mean score of 9.3 for previously tested Obama ads and 7.5 for previously tested McCain ads. To date, the total mean score for all previously tested ads is 8.3

The most prevalent emotional responses reported from voters were "angry" and "disturbed" after viewing the ad. Registered Registered Registered Total Democrat Republican Independent (n=312) (n=104) (n=103) (n=105) Anger 25% 36% 15% 26% Inspiration 1% 2% 0% 2% Sadness 16% 20% 14% 14% Skepticism 22% 8% 39% 21% Confusion 3% 3% 2% 3% Disturbing 29% 31% 26% 29% Embarrassment 2% 1% 0% 4% Pride 2% 0% 4% 1% Happiness 1% 0% 1% 1%

The PCIS is a metric scoring system designed to gauge the effectiveness of political communications by generating a score for each candidate to monitor changes in voter perceptions. The PCIS score is derived from the change in voters' support and the extent that the support shifts. To view scores and results of recent studies go to: http://www.mediacurves.com/PCIS/

While viewing the video, participants indicated their levels of believability by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants' emotions were measured using the Ayer Emotion Battery. Participants were also asked pre- and post-viewing questions. To view believability curves and detailed results go to: http://www.mediacurves.com.

The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans' perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.

HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based communications research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company's web site at http://www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues. For additional information on Muhlenberg College, go to http://www.muhlenberg.edu