After getting off to a slow start on the air in the Keystone State (which polls suggest may turn out to be a closer contest than many first expected) Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign today announced an ambitious new ad blitz.
The buy, which will run in markets across the state, includes three new ads, one revamped spot and one previously aired Spanish-language ad. In a press release, the campaign said, "The ads highlight Hillary's ability to get the job done as president -- her commitment to jumpstarting our economy, standing up for the middle class, and bringing quality, universal health care to all Americans."
Two of the new ads -- like Clinton's latest on the air in Indiana -- spotlight the endorsement of local pols. In "Get It Done" (subscription), Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says he's supporting Clinton because "she gets it, and she gets the job done." In "Spectacular" (subscription), Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell emphasizes Clinton's toughness: "I've known Hillary for fifteen years. She's spent her life standing up for people. When she believes something has to be done, she just won't quit." Both spots are airing in the Philadelphia market.
Clinton takes a more personal tack in her third ad (subscription), which uses footage of her childhood in Scranton to emphasize her personal connection to the state, much as her campaign used shots of daughter Chelsea's childhood in its Arkansas advertising (subscription) before that state's primary.
"I was raised on pinochle and the American dream," Clinton says. "I still have faith in that dream. It's just been neglected a little." Like the two endorsement ads, it closes with the tag line, "A president who will be strong for us."
Matching Barack Obama's attempts to target the state's Latino voters, Clinton will also trot out an old spot, "Nuestra Amiga," which the campaign says "highlights Hillary's understanding of the Latino community and the problems it faces." That ad will run in Philadelphia, while a reworked version of another old Clinton spot (subscription) comparing the Bush economy to a trapdoor will air in the state's more industrial Western half.
The full-spectrum push of ads, targeting diverse demographics and markets across the state on issues from the economy to Clinton's personal history, represents a drastic ramping up of investment in Pennsylvania, where Obama had been handily dominating the airwaves. Notably, the new buy refrains from attacks against either Obama or John McCain, choosing instead to focus squarely on Clinton while defusing charges that a polarizing primary could hurt Democrats in the general election.