Back in 2008, a year where social media played a bigger role in the election than ever before, Barack Obama and John McCain only spent $500,000 combined on social advertising – and that was all Obama. In the 2012 election, the candidates are expected to up that figure in a huge way.

TV ads are dying, according to social advertising company 140 Proof. They say that the decrease in viewers watching live TV and instead skipping all the commercials with their DVRs will result in $992 million of wasted political TV ads. So, where should that nearly billion dollars of advertising clout go?

The social sphere. They are quicker and easier to distribute than TV ads and according to 140 Proof, will be seen by 162 million voters. That’s a lot of the electorate.

Last election, only 9.5 million was spent on online political advertising – with a tiny fraction devoted to social sites like Facebook and Twitter. This year, that number is expected to skyrocket to 142 million in total online spending – with a larger percentage going to social ads (15x the 2008 figures).

What do you think? Will Obama and (whoever wins the GOP primary) truly embrace social advertising? Are you more likely to pay attention to an ad on Facebook, let’s say, as opposed to one on the tube? Or is it more annoying to have politicians invade your social sphere? Let us know in the comments, after you check out the infographic below: