Mayor Martin O?Malley?s son and mother have been appearing in TV campaign ads, and now there?s Gov. Robert Ehrlich?s wife Kendel and son Drew showing up in TV and radio spots boosting tax-free clothes shopping the week of Aug. 23.
One little difference: O?Malley commercials were paid for by his campaign for governor. The ads with Ehrlich are being unveiled today by Democratic Comptroller William Donald Schaefer as public service announcements that will run for free on TV and radio stations that choose to air them.
The ads were produced by the Maryland Retailers Association, which asked for Kendel Ehrlich to do the spots. The group wanted Schaefer in the ads too, but the Legislature put new restrictions on statewide officials in promotional ads after Gov. Ehrlich and Schaefer had appeared in so many state-paid commercials.
“We had used the first lady on a couple of promotions in 2004 and 2003 that were called ?Shop Maryland for the holiday,? ” association president Tom Saquella said. “And we thought she was very good and comes across very personable. We thought we?d use her again.
“We paid for some of the work on the ads,” Saquella said, and WMAR-TV Channel 2 did the video.
The ads run 60, 30 and 15 seconds long. In the TV ad, Kendel Ehrlich is pushing a shopping cart full of clothes, encouraging Marylanders to do the same for items costing less than $100. Drew Ehrlich, who just turned 7, pops out from behind a shirt rack, and says: “Hey kids, this is Drew Ehrlich. My advice is to get out of town real fast, or you?ll wind up shopping with your parents.”
Asked tocomment about the ads and Schaefer?s role in them, O?Malley, who had not heard of the ads, was interrupted by a campaign aide, and then simply said, “You won?t find my name on public” places and advertisements, other than the occasional signs for public construction. When the campaign found the ads were spearheaded by the retailers group, it declined to comment.
Saquella was asked whether he expected to catch any heat over the commercials.
“We catch heat, we catch heat,” he said. “She?s the perfect spokesman.”
