A super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy ran a campaign ad during the Super Bowl which was a remake of his uncle’s famous ad which ran in the 1960 presidential campaign.
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Do Political Ads Even Matter Anymore?
New York Times: “Campaign ads are inescapable on the nightly news, ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and YouTube. Even the high-dollar, high-visibility ad blocks of professional and college football games have become increasingly saturated.”
“It’s a deeply entrenched multimillion-dollar industry, and one of the largest expenses of every presidential campaign. But a confluence of political forces and changing media behavior may be testing the efficacy of political advertising in the Trump era.”
Democrats Plan $140 Million in Voter Testimonial Ads
“Democrats began the search last summer, fanning out through the northern swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to find the nurses, electricians, farmers and floor installers who could best testify to the danger of Donald Trump returning to power,” the Washington Post reports.
“The previously unreported project by the outside group American Bridge 21st Century developed 732 leads, conducted 472 interviews and then filmed about 50 voters who will anchor a $140 million ad campaign starting this spring, aimed at reminding women and working-class voters why they voted against Trump in 2020, according to the group’s leaders.”
Early State Voters Have Seen $300 Million in Ads
“Almost $300 million has been spent to try to win the Republican presidential nomination so far, two-thirds of it in the first two nominating states, Iowa and New Hampshire,” NPR reports.
“Most of that money is coming from super PACs and outside groups.”
Meta Allows Ads Claiming Rigged 2020 Election
Wall Street Journal: “Meta made the change last year, but it hasn’t gained wide attention. The company decided to allow political advertisers to say past elections were ‘rigged’ or ‘stolen’ but prevented them from questioning the legitimacy of ongoing and coming elections.”
Democratic Groups Target GOP Lawmakers Over Shutdown
“A trio of Democratic outside groups are launching new TV and digital ads Wednesday targeting House Republicans over the potential government shutdown,” NBC News reports.
Mike Pence Gets Outplayed by a Gas Pump
“Mike Pence has released a new campaign ad attacking President Joe Biden for high gas prices—but it’s gone viral for all the wrong reasons,” the Daily Beast reports.
“As he delivers his spiel to the camera… the gas pump can be heard beeping off camera with increasing urgency, beckoning him, as gas pumps do, to pay and select a kind of fuel. He somehow keeps up the whole charade throughout the incessant beeping, holding the nozzle into his gas tank as if viewers might not notice there’s no gas coming out.”
Lawmakers Bought Ads in Chinese Foreign Agent Paper
Washington Examiner: “Campaigns for eight Democratic and Republican politicians have paid over $41,500 combined between 2011 and 2023 for advertisements in Sing Tao U.S… The newspaper is a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Sing Tao News Corporation and reported itself as a foreign agent in 2021 that is involved in ‘political activity.'”
Why Biden’s MTG Ad is So Damn Effective
Dan Pfeiffer: “Earlier this week, President Biden tweeted out this video of Greene making an impressively persuasive case for Bidenomics.”
“To say people went bananas for this video would be a huge understatement. It had 10 million views across all platforms within three hours. That number was over 50 million by Thursday. Marjorie Taylor Greene stumbling into a campaign ad for Biden is just too much fun.”
“It’s embarrassing for Greene and highlights her willfully ignorant approach to public life. The video is also a testament to the talented folks doing digital rapid response for Biden and the Democratic National Committee. Strategically, this video bodes well for Team Biden as they prepare for a long and brutal campaign.”
“I love dunking on MTG, but I am in love with this video for another reason — it is the archetype of what political communicators should aim for.”
DeSantis Ad Uses AI Generated Voice of Trump
“A pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC uses an Artificial Intelligence version of Donald Trump’s voice in a new television ad attacking the former president,” Politico reports.
“Its content appears to be based off of a post that Trump made on his social media site Truth Social last week…. It will run statewide in Iowa tomorrow and the ad buy was at least $1 million — a massive sum though one doable for the well-heeled super PAC.”
‘Keep Republicans Out of Your Bedroom’
A new ad from Progress Action Fund might be the raciest political ad ever.
The Wrap: “The scene opens up with a man and a woman kissing in bed, both of them in their underwear with the woman straddling the man and asking if he has a condom. When the man reaches into his nightstand drawer in hopes of practicing safe sex, an elderly, white male hand snatches the condom out before he can, causing both the woman and her lover to scream in confusion at the dark-suited, red-tied man standing over them.”
Said the elderly man: “Sorry, you can’t use those… I’m your Republican congressman. Now that we’re in charge, we’re banning birth control.”
AI Political Ads Are Here
Vice News: “AI-generated political ads are officially here. And no one—including the campaigns themselves, let alone the voters—are prepared to handle this new reality.”
“Artificial intelligence is becoming more sophisticated by the day, and candidates and campaigns are just beginning to grapple with practical and ethical concerns over AI-produced content creeping into politics. The time when a deepfake videos which can’t be easily discerned from real events play a major role in campaigns seems not only inevitable but closer than ever.”
Antiabortion Group Used Cell Data to Target Ads
“A Midwest antiabortion group used cellphone location data to target online content to visitors of certain Planned Parenthood clinics,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The campaign used a common digital-advertising technology called geofencing to extract the unique device identifiers of phones carried into Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers… It then used those device IDs to target those people on popular social-networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat with antiabortion messaging.”
“All three social networks said the ads violated their policies and said future such campaigns would be rejected.”
Bill Would Require Disclosure of AI Content in Political Ads
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) introduced legislation that would require disclosure of AI-generated content in political ads — part of an effort, she said, to “get the Congress going on addressing many of the challenges that we’re facing with AI,” the Washington Post reports.
Trump Pours Money Into Digital Ads
“Donald Trump has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Facebook and Google ads in recent weeks, leveraging the chaos around his indictment to fundraise and collect data ahead of his 2024 run,” Axios reports.
“Trump used the exact same playbook ahead of the 2020 election.”
Twitter Fails to Report Some Political Ads
“Elon Musk took over Twitter last fall with a pledge of transparency for the social media giant — but so far political advertising on the platform has been anything but forthcoming,” Politico reports.
“Twitter has failed to disclose some political ads running on its site since early March… At least three promoted fundraising tweets were not included in Twitter’s own data, seemingly contradicting the company’s policies and raising doubts about the integrity of the platform’s data and how many other political ads could go unreported.”
Twitter Plans to Expand Political Ads
“Twitter Inc. said it plans to expand the political advertising it allows on the social-media platform after banning most political ads in 2019, in the latest policy change by new owner Elon Musk,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The company also said Tuesday that it is relaxing its policy for cause-based ads in the U.S. Such ads call for people to take action, educate and raise awareness in connection with the following categories: civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship and social-equity causes.”
Inflammatory Radio Ad Blitz Hits Battleground States
“One of the biggest radio ad blitzes in the final stretch of the midterm elections is a provocative package of advertisements aimed at deepening cultural divides over transgender care for children and racial tensions,” the New York Times reports.
“Financed by two groups run by former Trump administration officials, the ads have been placed with Black and Hispanic radio stations, along with conservative talk radio stations.”
“But the inflammatory radio spots contrast with a more standard-issue ad campaign this month from former President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump’s TV spots, created by his super PAC, MAGA Inc., have promoted messages on inflation and crime that generally align in both issue and tone with those of many Republican candidates seeking federal office.”
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