Romney tries to bury Obama in ads

[highplainsdem]

Source: Washington Post

Republican nominee Mitt Romney and his allies are banking heavily on a high-risk, high-reward media strategy in the final weeks of the campaign, hoping that burying President Obama in ads will give them a crucial edge on Election Day.

Ad purchases in the presidential race doubled or in some cases tripled last week in swing states such as Colorado, Florida, Iowa and Virginia, tracking data show. The surge is being driven by Romney and well-funded allies, who decided against running more ads earlier in the campaign in favor of a big bang at the end.

Restore Our Future, a super PAC dedicated to helping Romney, has booked $14 million worth of ads in nine states for the final week of October — more than it spent on ads during the month of September. The group is also ramping up its spending, airing a mix of ads criticizing Obama and extolling Romney in Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia.

-snip-

The ramped-up advertising by Republicans left Obama behind his GOP foes in total ad expenditures last week for the first time since the summer, though he has massive cash reserves after raising $181 million in September. Obama and his key outside ally, the Priorities USA Action super PAC, have kept up a steady barrage ads attacking Romney in Ohio and other battlegrounds.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/romney-tries-to-bury-obama-in-ads/2012/10/12/b7712fdc-13c9-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story.html

[fugop]

1. People really are stupid.

First of all, anyone actually watching political ads at this point is crazy. And secondly, anyone buying what they're selling is an idiot.

[lonestarnot]

6. Personally, I am enjoying watching the stupid fucks waste their dough.

[bemildred]

34. It's like a stimulus package all by itself.

I'm sure the President appreciates the help with the economy.

[ann---]

26. Exactly

The minute I see ANY political ad on TV (even local ones), I grab the remote. Can't stand any of them any more.

[snooper2]

2. So Romney is able to hold his wad before he blows it?

If only Ann knew

[Cha]

3. Well, it will either work or it won't. Our Country's(Planet) Life depends on

it Not Working.

[Ztolkins]

4. Why is this high risk?

[grantcart]

14. because they put all of their money into one basket

They don't have a very good ground game. Obama has invested tens of millions in a state of the art ground game.

There is saturation and many people have invested in a new fangled device called a remote control. After about the 5th time seeing the ad it just doesn't have that much effect any more.

Also it is the earlier ads that tend to have more impact because they define a candidate. Obama defined Romney with a huge ad buy early in the summer with the 47% remark.

Finally during the last three weeks candidates can run around the ads buy doing rallies and doing series of interviews with local news teams. These will be featured in the regular local news shows and generally have less problems with people clicking.

[Ztolkins]

17. Ah okay,

Thanks for the intelligent response. It's why I love DU.

Makes sense, hopefully it won't work.

[bemildred]

19. I think they come up against the law of dimishing returns.

You overdo it, people get sick of it. It's an interesting experiment, never been tried, but I don't think it will work. What it might do is give more cred. to any vote-rigging and whatnot going on. And you may be sure that anything they think they can get away with, they will try.

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. Romney hasn't released his September numbers

Why?

It's October 13. He released his August numbers on September 3.

Possible answer: his September fundraising was dismal, and he's almost out of gas. That's why this is high risk.

[KurtNYC]

31. the other risk is that by going late you are betting that enough people can be swayed late to

make a difference. heck voting has been under way for a while. I think it is too late for Mitt.

He was defined early by the Bain, taxes and then the 47%. Spent his credibility, got hammered in the primaries. But their whole strategy is to go neg on Obama while being vague about what they would do. They are also going to try everything to depress Obama's turnout and I expect may ads will be aimed at Democrats, blacks and women.

[applegrove]

5. .

[fearnobush]

7. Thank you SCOTUS for buying our elections.

Sad that we have to play this money game. It's these ads that are driving Obama down, probibly more so than the debate.

[defacto7]

8. It can have the opposite effect...

If I see a flurry of ads, I get put off. Actually, we got rid of our cable, but any time there were too many ads, off it went, change channel or mute, especially political ads.

I really think it can be anti productive.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. I have to think that at some point people stop paying attention.

I turn off political ads as soon as they come on - even ones I agree with - because they have become a boring pain in the butt. After you've seen the same ad a dozen times it becomes background noise at best. When do they become so annoying that people stop watching, or even start to dislike the candidate because they hate the ads?

[begin_within]

10. As it gets closer to election day, you get so sick of the ads that you mentally tune them out.

So I think they get a lot less for their money on that final weekend before election day.

[GoCubsGo]

27. I can vouch for that.

I get my TV from the market that also serves John Barrow's district in Georgia. It's been one fucking ad after another. Every damn commercial break. Turdblossom and his minions are even starting to run them back-to-back. I hit the mute button, or change the channel as soon as I hear the names "John Barrow" or "Lee Anderson" (teabagger opponent) mentioned. I don't care who is paying for the commercial. And, I know I am far from alone there.

[wordpix]

33. The Turd has so much Xroads GPS $$$ he's just throwing it away

Here's hoping it's all just flushed down the toilet along with the rest of his shit

[Politicub]

11. That's what Tivo is for

[Monk06]

12. Restore America, Restore Our Future. By the way you can't restore what hasn't happened yet.

America doesn't need restoration. She needs for the Republicans to stop destroying everything that has been built up over the last sixty years since Roosevelt.

[wordpix]

32. "you can't restore what hasn't happened yet"---lol such a great point

[newspeak]

36. yeah , when I see "restore america"

i think of the eight fekkin years of little boots that got us into this mess. "restore" my arse; more like destroy what's left.

and, I'd like to know who is the african american guy they got who voted for obama last time and now he's voting for romney? every time I see that ad I think, okay he's being paid, he's a republican (and has always been a republican) or he's jumped the shark.

I'm already sick of the ads, and it seems like there are more repug ads than democratic. I told my MIL, they sure must have a lot of money after that citizens united ruling to spend on ads. any tom, dick, or harry from any corporation around the world can donate to their candidate. as things are going with the corporate plutocracy, we won't even be voting one day; global corporations will decide which head of corporate america they want as CEO.

[progressivebydesign]

13. and thus the Koch Brothers and Adelman BUY THE FUCKING WHITE HOUSE FOR ROMNEY...

with the help of the corrupt members of the supreme court. America is doomed as long as those soulless fuckers are given free rein to buy our elections.

[DallasNE]

15. At Some Point Crowding Out Will Occur

Stations will have to decide which ads get run. Will Romney ads keep Senate candidates from buying air time or will the stations not run some of the Romney ads so other voices can be heard. Plus, with early voting well under way in many of these States it will be too late to change minds in many cases. Lastly, people will at some point get fed up with this constant bombardment, setting up a backlash (I can hope).

[davidpdx]

18. How is the decision made on whether to run national or local ads

Is there a set amount for each or is it first come first serve?

[TomCADem]

16. Romney's Sudden Momentum Coincides With Buy. Coincidence? (nm)

[highplainsdem]

22. I was wondering about that, too.

[Enrique]

20. Romney has less content to work with

his most effective ads will be lies, and a lot of people will see through it and be turned off.

Obama has a million things to attack Romney on that are true, for example "Let Detroit go Bankrupt", Bain, Tax Returns, 47% and surprises that we haven't heard about yet. And they are all true.

I'm not saying Obama is a sure winner, I'm saying that Obama has a big edge with the ads. Especially since we now know that he is more willing to use everything he's got than other dems we have seen.

[kelliekat44]

21. The GOP low-information voters will be turned off. They can't take too much information

even if they agree with it. Their brains can only be programmed so much and they freeze.

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. This week has been his Battle of the Bulge

He threw $23 million in ad buys at the swing states, and moved the needle, but he can't keep it there.

Romney has still refused to release his September fundraising. Why? DUers who voted Republican one time a quarter century ago are reporting aggressive Romney telemarketers seeking donations. Why?

Is there any gas left in the tank?

Hold steady, people. This week was the best Romney could do. He's gambled everything on breaking through the Ardennes, at our surrender at Bastogne. We've been overrun by desperate trolls.

And you know what we say to Romney and the R's?

NUTS!

[Buddaman]

25. I read somewhere

that it takes 8 lies to cover one lie.....wonder how many lies willard will stack up when Nov rolls around

[tavernier]

28. I mute them all...

even the guys I like.

I think Obama should do a three second shot of him saying, "I think we're all ready for a little break from politics"... and then show a ten second clip from I Love Lucy, or Bugs Bunny, or The Little Rascals, something really funny and totally non related to the campaign. And at the end he's back saying, "HAVE a great week!"

[vinny9698]

29. The law of diminishing returns

States that after a while the more resources you put in the less you get back. As explained to me in grad school. You have an acre of land, you plant corn. You fertilize, you water, after a while the returns get less and less. The first dollar of fertilizer will have a big impact, but the land can only sustain so much fertilizer. The law says that when you max out, it will be for every dollar put in you will receive a dollar. After a certain point the same dollar will only return 90 cents, and so on.
This law is real. If not you could then feed the entire world on one acre, just put in the resources.

[underthematrix]

30. I'm not sure why the media keeps saying things like this

Most people have cable and TiVo, which means you can pause and fast forward through any ad. I watch everything online which means you get to choose your ads so I haven't seen any Romney ones. The Obama ones are great.

[AdHocSolver]

35. The ad blitz could be a cover up for hacking the voting machines.

The right wing would claim that their ad blitz swung voters to their candidate, not vote counting fraud.

Democrats need poll watchers everywhere.

[BlueInPhilly]

37. I'm in Philly and no Romney ads!

Thank you! I haven't even seen the Smith ads against Casey.

In Boston (where I work 1/2 the time), back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back Warren Brown ads.

[shanti]

38. this election season, i've seen far more mailers than usual

what a waste of money, because 1-i've already voted, and 2-they go straight to the recycle bin without reading.