Forget kissing babies on the campaign trail. The millions of dollars worth of political advertisements airing before early primary elections are turning out to be money well spent.

An analysis by The Associated Press has found that the ads have been more effective in swaying voters and affecting election results than any other way of campaigning. That includes personal appearances by candidates, stump speeches or town hall meetings.

The AP's study of advertising purchases, campaign stops and demographic data offers the first glimpse of how new super political action committees are poised to remake presidential politics this year. Super PACs can spend unlimited cash on elections, and already they've spent at least $10 million on ads.