NationalJournal.com's Ad Spotlight

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Looking Down The Road

Filed under Hillary Rodham ClintonFiled under Television Ad
Posted at 6:15 PM
Click here to watch "Jobs" and "David."

For all the money poured into Pennsylvania in the last two weeks, Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign must have been saving some of its ad budget for the next two contests, in Indiana and North Carolina. Today Clinton released new ads in each state, both notably free of the vitriol that came to dominate Pennsylvania airwaves.

"I think this election, particularly here in Indiana, is about jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs," says Clinton at the start of her newest ad in Indiana. Picking up the economic theme of her two previous Hoosier State ads, "Jobs" hits many familiar Clinton points -- she'll "fix unfair trade deals" and "stop tax breaks" for outsourcing companies -- and ends with an uplifting message about "putting the American people first."

One thing that separates "Jobs" (along with Clinton's last Indiana spot) from her previous repertoire is its attack on America's biggest trading partner: Clinton promises in this ad to "stand up to China." China has traditionally proven a convenient punching bag for presidential candidates, but one not often swung at in this election cycle's advertising so far.

Clinton's second new spot continues her "N.C. Ask Me" series of interactive ads in which she answers voter-submitted questions. In "David," Clinton fields a question about the government's treatment of returning veterans, underlining her patriotism and naming specific measures she's taken to provide soldiers with better care. "I have been a leader in the Senate on trying to do more for traumatic brain injury," she says.

Clinton has run ads throughout the primary focusing on her record of support for the military, and "David" could help her close some of Barack Obama's large lead in the state. According to the Almanac of American Politics, 13 percent of North Carolina's 8.5 million people are veterans.