[Updated] Apologies to Rick Tyler of Winning Our Future, who has expressed his displeasure with this post to me on twitter, pointing out as well that some of his ad buys have been here at RedState. Online advertising hasn’t been my concern below as I’m sure it is geotargetted, etc.
As to the television and radio advertising, a friend familiar with the ad buying of the super PAC tells me that in some cases the ads were purchased late and most air time had been filled up. Consequently, the ads were bought as a package that spread them out, though unfortunately those bundles necessitated some ads continuing to play after the primaries in the particular states had ended. Additionally, as I originally mentioned, some of the ads are national ad buys which appear on the national network, be they television or radio.
The original post is now below the fold.
Is ‘Winning Our Future’, the Super PAC affiliated with Newt Gingrich and mostly funded by Sheldon Adelson using Mr. Adelson’s money wisely?
I only ask because yesterday — the day after Super Tuesday — I was still hearing their not very good advertisements on radio in Georgia.
I noted that on twitter and subsequently had individuals tell me that the PAC is still running ads in Florida, Michigan, and even in Iowa. A radio host in South Florida confirmed for me he has heard the ads there recently. Most troubling, several Virginia residents tell me the PAC ran ads there despite Gingrich not being on the ballot.
All of this, I should be clear, comes in from reports on twitter except for the recent report from Florida and my own experience in Georgia after the election.
One might presume that the advertisements in Georgia and Florida were actually targeting Alabama, except Atlanta radio does not penetrate Alabama, nor does radio from Southern Florida where the ads have been heard on the radio. Additionally, some of them could be national ad buys running on national shows, but not all of them are. Finally, I’m sure a few could be ads bought in a block and the days spilled past the election. That is sometimes cheaper than specific date purchases. But still, it makes little sense that Iowa, Virginia, and South Florida are still hearing ads. If they are national ads, I would question if the shotgun approach is the right approach.
As I noted just a day before the Florida primary, the super PAC was attacking Mitt Romney in South Florida about abortion — not a relevant topic to voters in that area in that primary.
The PAC otherwise has had a minimal presence, though is now airing commercials on Rush Limbaugh’s program (which would account for some, but not all, of the reports of ads in odd places). But I am beginning to wonder if there is an actual strategy or do they just need a new ad buyer. If they need a new ad buyer, what sort of commissions are being paid with the PAC money?
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