The difference here is not subtle. For some reason, people who complain incessantly about "the rich" and "the one-percenters" always overlook those wealthy people in entertainment and in sports. Nobody cares that some Hollywood dipsh!t lives in a castle, flies around in a private jet, and has no dealings with minorities other than their fellow entertainers and the guy who delivers UPS packages to the movie studio. But for some reason these 90-IQ voters seem to get all bothered over a successful business owner who works hard and employs a lot of people.
“One big difference is that Trump is seen by people as an entertainment figure, while Romney was seen as a businessman.”
Maybe that’s why the negative ads aren’t sticking. OTOH, it may be that Trump’s negatives are so high (and they are) and his positives are so enthusiastic. That means HRC is plumbing too small a group of folks who don’t have a strong negative or positive. So she threw her money down the crapper.
OTOH, negative ads against HRC have the same problem this year. Her unfavorables are really high and most people, even many of her supporters, think she’s a liar and a grifter. So running ads proving she’s a liar and a grifter may not move the meter at all.
The people not committed to Trump or HRC are going to make up their minds despite the negatives. That makes it an interesting election to do TV for. Maybe Trump will go all positive early. That would be interesting.