Ad #11: TV
Ad: "Carrie"
by Pete Coors for U.S. Senate
ADWATCH | "Carrie"
Ad sponsor: Coors for Senate
Producer: McAuliffe Message Media
Type: Issue/Positive Testimonial
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pete Coors put out an ad Friday that harkens back to the early days of the campaign when the candidates were trying to introduce themselves to voters and raise positive perceptions of themselves. In the ad, Coors' daughter, Carrie, talks admiringly of him as a father, husband and protector of the environment.
Political analyst Eric Sondermann said it is unusual to be doing positive ads at this stage of the campaign, but he suspects Coors is running the positive ads and allowing outside groups to put up the harsher negative commercials. Some people question Coors' dedication to the environment.
Claim: "He's worked to preserve our environment."
Fact: Coors, an avid outdoorsman, touts his work on conservation-group boards and as a former national president and chairman of Ducks Unlimited, which works on wetlands conservation.
Coors companies, however, have been fined by the state for violating environmental rules, according to state records. "Pete Coors can appear in a lot of pretty places, but it does not compensate for the environmental damage he - and his company - is responsible for," Salazar spokesman Cody Wertz said.
Watson said any large corporation faces environmental problems, but the Coors firm has stepped up to clean up spills and has funded programs to support the environment.
