In the battle of paid campaign advertisements, D.C. Council Chairman and mayoral hopeful Vince Gray isn’t getting the word out as well as his better-funded rival, Mayor Adrian Fenty, advertising experts said.
Gray released his first advertisement on “urban” Washington radio stations Tuesday morning, nearly a month after Fenty released the first of five 15-second television spots.
The Fenty advertisements feature testimonials from supporters, including Councilman Jack Evans, that take a negative perception about the mayor — he’s arrogant, he doesn’t care about small business — and turn the negative on its head. The Gray radio splash focuses on uniting the city’s black east side with its whiter west side by improving public safety, creating jobs and reforming schools.
Fenty advertisements:
“East of the River”
“Some people say Mayor Fenty is not delivering for people east of the Anacostia River, but I know differently. … Mayor Fenty is different because he makes the hard decisions.”
“Determination”
“Some people say Adrian has changed and that he’s arrogant. … He listens to people and then he gets about doing the job.”
Gray advertisement:
“Only one candidate for mayor has a plan to bring D.C.’s communities — east and west of the river — together to create one city, Vince Gray.
As mayor, Vince Gray will make job creation a top priority by expanding job training and vocational education programs. …
And Vince Gray knows we need to reform our schools to give our young people the education they need to live, work and succeed here in the District. …
Vince Gray will place more officers on foot and bike patrol. …”
But where Fenty’s advertisements are targeted via cable television at specific audiences, the Gray advertisement meant for a larger audience comes off as generic, some observers said. “It’s not persuasive and it’s not going to reach through the clutter,” said Scott Perreault, who runs an advertising company that’s made commercials for political campaigns nationwide and is not involved in any D.C. mayoral campaign. “The Midwestern, middle-of-the-road voice is not going to play well on an R&B station.” A radio advertisement may also represent a poor spending strategy, Perreault said. The cost of producing one radio advertisement is likely about the same as one Fenty television advertisement, anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000, he said. The cost of buying radio space, however, is higher and there can be less bang for the buck. Fenty’s advertisement regarding his “delivering” to the east side of the Anacostia River can run in ZIP codes in that area; on radio, Gray can’t be that sure of his audience.
mailto:[email protected] “>[email protected]
