Posts Tagged ‘Smart Media Group Delta’

How the States Got Their Primary Ad Buys

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Spending by the surviving presidential candidates and their allied Super PACs will soon top $80 million and the financial bleeding is foreseen to continue. Michigan and Arizona are up next week with Super Tuesday on the horizon.

Mitt Romney’s camp is already planning for March. In addition to its Michigan and Arizona buys, which date from January, Restore Our Future PAC, the governor’s independent ally, has bought time in Ohio. ROF, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich’s ally, Winning our Future PAC, have also booked media buys in other Super Tuesday states, including Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

As of Friday, Republicans have spent a combined total of $77.8 million on broadcast, cable and radio advertising for the GOP presidential primary (see full list of spenders below). Michigan alone has seen $7.2 million invested there, while Arizona has seen about $1 million.

Smart Media Group’s ad tracking goes back to last summer when the first round of GOP primary spending began. Leading up to the Iowa Straw Poll in August, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul together spent $1.8 million on advertising in Iowa. By Jan. 3 there had been $16.5 million spent on advertising in the state.

One week later, as voters headed to the polls for the first primary, advertisers poured $5.4 million into the New Hampshire. After the New Hampshire primary, a flood of new advertisers began to crop up in South Carolina. After the dust settled, $12.4 million had been dropped on the first Southern primary.

In the week leading up to Florida, Team Romney and Team Gingrich continued to buy time and duke it out over the airwaves there. They were the only camps to do so – both Santorum and Paul (and their supporters) stayed out the expensive state. Florida received $21.2 million dollars from a handful of advertisers.

Other states are now lining up for their own disbursements from the candidates.

*(Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow PAC, AFSCME, Americans for Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Citizens for a Working America, Citizens United, Ending Spending, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, Keep Conservatives United, Latino Americanos for Newt Gingrich, Leadership for Families PAC, MoveOn.org, Make Us Great Again PAC, National Organization for Marriage, Numbers USA, Barack Obama, Our Destiny PAC, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Perry, Priorities USA, Pro-Life Super PAC, Restore Our Future PAC, Revolution PAC, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Red White and Blue Fund, Santa Rita PAC, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin’s Iowa Earthquake, SEIU, Susan B. Anthony List, William de Jean, Winning Our Future PAC).

A version of this post was also published on Campaign and Election’s blog, Campaign Insider.

Sparks fly in Presidential Jobs Ads…Literally

Friday, January 13th, 2012

Presidential campaign ads are formulaic. In many cases, the viewer sees a montage of established symbols flashed across the screen: American flags flying, wheat fields rustling, Main Streets lined with shoppers, people going to work. Symbols are a powerful way of quickly relating a message to an audience. American flags, for instance, are used to represent freedom, while wheat fields are used to represent prosperity. But which symbol best represents 21st century jobs? The welder. Nothing like sparks flying off a grinder to tell people: this candidate embodies the dynamism of the American economy.

In an effort to track the general messaging behind this year’s presidential ads, Smart Media Group has kept a playlist of all of the television-worthy spots uploaded to YouTube by the presidential candidates, Political Action Committees and issue groups. So far, SMG has tallied 98 different broadcast-quality ads that have been uploaded to YouTube and relate to the 2012 GOP primary election. Of those 98 ads, 22 are negative ads (22 percent), 67 are positive ads (68 percent) and 9 are “contrast” ads, or positive/negative (9 percent).

SMG also has counted eights ads that have featured a table saw with sparks flying. Of these eight ads, five have been positive ads, two have been negative ads and one has been a contrast ad. Watch how each candidate lets the welder tell a story:

1 “Believe in America

Mitt Romney was the first the candidate to feature the welder in his ad, “Believe in America.” It was an attack ad on Obama. Not too many sparks flying, but definitely bright.

2 “America’s CEO

Friends of Herman Cain produced this positive ad called “America’s CEO.” It features a much more impressive shot of sparks flying.

3 “Rebuilding the America We Love

Newt Gingrich entered Iowa with this positive ad, “Rebuilding the America We Love.” It looks like the whole factory is ablaze!

4 “Freedom and Opportunity

Mitt Romney released a positive ad called “Freedom and Opportunity.” This shot is a bit more complicated, with the candidate actually walking behind the welder.

5 “Best Chance” & “Very Best Chance

Rick Santorum also featured the grinder in his positive ad aired in South Carolina, “Best Chance” and version 2, “Very Best Chance“. This is a great, full screen shot of a welder working hard.

6 “Timid vs. Bold

Newt Gingrich featured this table saw in his contrast ad, “Timid vs. Bold.” This shot is a nice switch up from the traditional close up of the welder.

7 “Mitt Romney: Job Creator?

MoveOn.org aired this Romney attack ad on cable networks in New Hampshire. It’s a nice shot of the man working with the grinder.

8 “Leadership

The Pro-Perry Make Us Great Again PAC aired “Leadership” in both Iowa and South Carolina. This may be the best shot of a welder and sparks flying.

Did we miss any welders? Which ad is your favorite?

A version of this post was also published on Campaigns and Elections’ blog, Campaign Insider.