Tag Archives: AdMo

Can TikTok’s $2 Million Ad Blitz Buy Time For the Beleaguered Platform?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and reading Oliver Darcy’s latest post at CNN’s Reliable Sources, when I came across this item about the video-sharing site TikTok.

TikTok has launched a $2.1 million television ad campaign as its fate is decided by the U.S. Senate, Brian Schwartz reports. (CNBC)

What’s the deal here, Doc – do U.S. Senators even watch TV? Wouldn’t TikTok be better off taking each one out to dinner at Cafe Milano? It is, after all, “Where the world’s most powerful people go,” according to the New York Times.

– TskTok

Dear TT,

Funny thing – TikTok’s ad buy is roughly the same amount as two anti-TikTok outfits (The American Parents Coalition and State Armor Action) are spending on national TV spots, which the Doc detailed the other day.

The difference is, TikTok is targeting U.S. senators who are just as beleaguered as the Chinese-owned platform is, as CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports.

TikTok has launched a $2.1 million advertising campaign with a clear message for senators in tough reelection fights this year: Block the House bill that could effectively ban the app in the United States.

“Think about the 5 million small business owners that rely on TikTok to provide for their families,” one purported TikTok user says in the ad. “To see all of that disappear would be so sad,” says another apparent user.

The company has reserved television ad space in the battleground states of Nevada, Montana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, according to data from AdImpact.

Here’s a transcript of the spot, which for some reason is not on YouTube, but is posted at AdMo. It features a series of people talking up the platform.

“There is no doubt that I would not have found the success that I have today without TikTok.”

“TikTok has made me a better teacher. It’s helped me to connect with people far beyond my classroom.”

“Think about the 5 million small business owners that rely on TikTok to provide for their families.”

“The village is always there for the moms on TikTok.”

“To see all of that disappear would be so sad.”

“It’s gonna affect a lot of people’s livelihoods.”

“We have got to make enough noise about this so that they don’t take away our voice.”

The spot ends with #KeepTikTok on screen. Not everyone, though, is putting on the pom poms.

The Doc’s diagnosis: TikTok parent ByteDance has flooded social media with testimonials from its users, so voices like the one above are largely drowned out. Whether any U.S. senators are listening, of course,  is another matter entirely.

Why Can’t Democrats Quit Canoodling With Trumpy GOP Candidates?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and reading Zachary Basu’s post at Axios Sneak Peek, when I came across this item about “Ohio’s strange bedfellows.”

Former President Trump and meddling Democrats are both scrambling to get their preferred Republican candidate — businessman Bernie Moreno — over the finish line in Tuesday’s Senate GOP primary in Ohio, Axios’ Stephen Neukam reports.

Why it matters: Democrats view Moreno as the weakest general election opponent for vulnerable Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Moreno is also the only Trump-backed Senate candidate at risk of losing in a GOP primary — a potentially embarrassing blow to the former president . . .

The intrigue: Duty and Country PAC, a group tied to Senate Democrats, is spending $2.5 million on a TV ad highlighting Moreno’s ties to Trump — seeking to boost him with the GOP’s conservative base.

What the hell, Doc – why do Democrats (lookin’ at you, Adam Schiff) keep pumping up Republican candidates they think will be easy pickings in a general election?

– GOPsmacked Voter

Dear GV,

As Democratic candidates and their allies keep demonstrating in political races nowadays, the only difference between an opponent and a proponent is a little pr.

The latest case in point: The new TV spot from Duty and Country PAC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chuck Schumer’s Senate Majority PAC. The latter group,  according to this piece by the Washington Post’s Michael Scherer, has reserved $239 million in ads to defend seats in seven states.

Duty and Country’s mash note to Bernie Moreno in the Ohio GOP Senate primary, meanwhile, is more ham-handed than a  Hormel worker. The video has been pulled from YouTube for some reason, but you can view the spot at AdMo. Here’s the transcript.

MAGA Republican Bernie Moreno is too conservative for Ohio. In Washington, Moreno would do Donald Trump’s bidding. That’s why Trump endorsed Moreno, calling him exactly the type of MAGA fighter that we need in the United States Senate. Moreno would lead the charge to enact Trump’s MAGA agenda to repeal Obamacare and institute a national ban on abortion. Donald Trump needs Bernie Marino. Ohio doesn’t. Duty and Country is responsible for the content of this ad.

Of course, such bank-shot campaigns don’t always pay off. In the 2022 election cycle, according to this NPR piece by Bill Chappell, “not all of the far-right candidates supported by Democratic groups won their primary races — in fact, far from it. In September, an analysis by The Washington Post found that seven of 13 Democrat-backed Republican candidates lost their primaries after having more than a combined $12 million spent on their behalf.”

One campaign that might have worked too well, on the other hand, is Adam Schiff’s $11 million wet kiss to former pro baseball player Steve Garvey, the Republican candidate in California’s U.S. Senate primary. As Katy Grimes reports in California Globe, Garvey was leading Schiff in the jungle primary by 254,667 votes as of yesterday afternoon.

Live and let learn, that’s the Doc’s slogan.