The Inside Story on Political Advertising
By Arthur Kane
Denver Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Senate candidates Pete Coors and Ken Salazar are projecting positive images in their current political ads, a sharp contrast from what most voters expect from campaign commercials.
But experts say each camp is banking that the positive ads will leave a good enough impression on voters to weather the inevitable negative attacks later in the campaign.
"Let's call this the lull before the storm," political analyst Eric Sondermann said about ads the campaigns are running.
"Candidates need to introduce themselves to be liked and accepted - both to have voters feel good about who they are and to cushion or inoculate themselves when the mud starts flying."
What the ads say Salazar, the Democrat, is wearing a cowboy hat in his ad, touting his experience helping people and promising to be a champion for Coloradans in Washington.
"No matter who you are, no matter where you're from, you ought to be able to live the American Dream," he says.
Republican candidate Coors unveiled a new commercial Tuesday where he says his real-world experience running a beer company will help him lower taxes, fight terror and stop abuses by trial lawyers. "I'll fight to end lawsuit abuse by trial lawyers whose greed is driving up the cost of health care for families," he says.
Coors backs his health-care claim with studies by the Heritage Foundation, American Medical Association and the National Federation of Small Business, all either conservative groups or groups that support tort reform.
Tort reform opponents say lawsuits account for a fraction of the cost of health care.
What the ads try to accomplish
While neither ad can be called an attack on the opponent, Coors - intentionally or not - hints at weaknesses in Salazar's political armor.
Coors differentiates himself from "lawyers and politicians" in the Senate, and campaign manager Sean Tonner said it's a "clear difference" between lawyer and Attorney General Salazar and businessman Coors.
Tonner said Coors expects to spend about $250,000 statewide on this ad, barring any unforeseen attacks he will have to refute.
He said Salazar is spending about the same amount, but Salazar spokesman Cody Wertz declined to confirm that figure.
The campaigns agree that they are trying to introduce the issues that will dominate the campaign and generate a positive image of their candidates.
But Jim Rettew, an adjunct professor teaching political communication at the University of Colorado, said both ads are so "stale" that they arenot effective with viewers.
"Their eyes glaze over, and I don't think it resonates with people," he said, adding that quirky, humorous ads are better at attracting voters' attention.
But John Burnett, a marketing professor at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, said statewide candidates cannot use ads like those used in smaller races, because the ads offend people in some communities.
Several analysts interviewed expect the tenor of the ads to change in late September, sparked either by the candidates themselves or by outside groups trying to sway a close race that's key to control of the U.S. Senate.
"It'll turn negative, but no one wants to take the first shot," Rettew said.
