Advertisement war and fundraising: The next battle
OBAMA’S slogan of change is countered by the constant refrain of Clinton and McCain about “experience”. And it probably proved to be his undoing in the March 4 primaries and caucuses in Texas and Ohio.
Four days before the election, the Clinton campaign issued a TV advertisement that showed children sleeping. There was a voiceover: “It is 3 a.m. in the morning and the phone rings in the White House.” There was a crisis, it continued, and asked whom the people wanted should pick up the phone. Clinton was shown picking it up.
The ad was apparently meant to showcase Clinton’s experience in contrast with Obama’s inexperience. While Obama came out with an ad showing endorsement to his candidature by historians from different universities, Clinton came up with endorsements from Generals.
In response to the 3 a.m. ad, the Obama campaign came up with one that again showed children sleeping and the same red phone ringing but the ad ended on a different note:
“In a dangerous world, it’s the judgment that matters.”
It was an attack on both Clinton and McCain for their support to the Iraq war.
The ‘3 a.m. ad’ is being seen as having turned the tide in Clinton’s favour as exit polls showed that a significant percentage of people who had been undecided had taken a decision in favour of Clinton in the last three days. It was incidentally the same period marked by controversies like Obama’s former associate from Chicago businessman Tony Rezko going on trial on corruption charges and his key economic advisor telling Canadian officials about Obama’s stand on North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a mere “political positioning”.
In the run up to the March 4 primaries and caucuses, both Democratic contenders were fighting a virtual ad war. Clinton spent $ 327,401 to buy 1,410 spots on local television channels, while Obama spent $ 631,904 to buy 2,352 spots.
Obama even ran a five-part series of full-page ads in leading newspapers elaborating on his plans and proposals. According to Phil Wilson, Secretary of State, Texas, the two sides together spent $7 million in their campaigning in Texas.
Now that the two Democrats are set for a long-drawn series of primaries and caucuses in a dozen states involving 745 delegates, the emphasis is likely to be on collecting donations. Clinton’s donations had at one point of time hit rock bottom and she had to give a $5 million loan to her campaign from her own funds. She, however, changed her tactics after that and adopted Obama’s by focusing on small donors through the Internet. In February she was reported to have raised $35 million, but Obama still outmatched her with $50 million.
McCain has been lagging behind in fundraising. His campaign raised $12 million in January, compared to Obama’s $36 million.

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