Videostyle is a concept used to describe the pattern of styles and strategies that candidates use in their [Page 809]televised political advertising. A candidate's videostyle includes three important components of their ads: the verbal elements, the nonverbal elements, and the production elements. The concept of videostyle was influenced by several studies looking at personal style, presentation of self, and communication style. These earlier studies of style suggested that a person's communication style would be revealed through a pattern of behavior that recurred over and over again in different settings.

Videostyle builds on this concept, proposing that a political candidate's personal communication style is translated and constructed for voters through the candidate's television ads. A candidate's videostyle is also influenced by his or her political status, ideology, ...