The Swift Boat Vets issued their second anti-Kerry advertisement in the middle of August, with a new focus on Kerry's post-military service criticism of the war. In the advertisement "Sellout," Kerry is assailed for comments that the ad claimed undercut the efforts of American troops in the field. While similar to the tone and design of the "Any Questions" commercial, "Sellout" did not seem to have the same impact on support for Kerry. In particular, while the first Swift Boat ad appeared to weaken independent support for Kerry, the second ad did not move these voters in any significant manner (Figure 7).

The "Sellout" advertisement also failed to move Kerry voters substantially to less confident levels of support (Figure 8). Only 4 percent of individuals who initially said they were definitely voting for the Massachusetts senator were less sure after seeing the "Sellout" advertisement. Among respondents who indicated that they were most likely going to vote for Kerry in the pre-test, there was actually a net increase in intensity of support, with 15 percent less sure of their support and 18 percent more sure.

The "Sellout" ad also seems to have made no significant impact on support for President Bush. In particular, among independent voters pre-test and post-test results were almost identical (Figure 9). Thus, unlike "Any Questions," the advertisement does not appear either to have helped Bush or harmed Kerry.