Obama Buys Olympics Ads
Presumptive Democrat presidential nominee makes $5M buy during coverage of Olympic Games by NBC, cable properties.
By Robert Marich -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/24/2008 7:23:00 AM
Casting a wider advertising net than other politicians, the campaign of presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) made a $5 million buy of Olympic Games advertising on NBC and the company’s related cable-TV properties, it was learned from campaign disclosures Thursday.
That continues a tactic of unusually heavy buying mass-appeal programs, and not just news programs. During the primaries, the Obama campaign spent heavily on primetime spots in entertainment shows in battleground states.
The Olympics buy put Obama’s campaign advertising in the company of quick-service restaurants, beer and automobile advertisers.
Obama’s decision to not accept federal matching money -- despite earlier pledges to adhere to federal spending limits -- means that his campaign can spend as much as it raises. The Obama campaign is taking in record amounts of campaign contributions, which amounted to $52 million in June, compared with nearly $21.5 million for presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).
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