Soccer moms, or whatever the lexicon is nowadays, are a key swing group -- one both sides are watching. Today, Crossroads GPS went up with a $10 million ad buy making a play for the group across 10 battleground states.
Crossroads says the ad will run beginning today in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
By the way, the woman in the ad is an "actor based on a composite of women Crossroads interviewed in focus groups," said Crossroads spokesman Jonathan Collegio.
Mitt Romney is going up with his first ads of the general election in at least three swing states, according to NBC ad tracking partner SMG Delta.
The Romney campaign is placing broadcast buys in Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa; Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio; as well as Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke, Va.
That's just so far with more expected. The ad time is purchased for Friday through Tuesday. There is no word yet as to the content of the ads that will run.
By NBC's Domenico Montanaro, Deputy Political Editor, NBC News
The Obama campaign is up with three new ads in six states, all battlegrounds -- Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Virginia, Colorado, and Nevada.
All three ads are positive, 30 seconds each, and part of the $25 million campaign ad buy rollout announced earlier this week, the campaign confirms.
“Brian,” running in Ohio, focuses on an Ohio autoworker and young father who was laid off and is back to work.
With almost U-2-style music playing in the background, Brian says while driving to work: “Obama stuck his neck out for us, the auto industry. He wasn’t going to let it just die. And I’m driving in this morning because of that.”
The Weekly Standard, though, writes “The ad itself seems to be misleading. It is not because of Obama's auto bailout that Slagle has a job. In fact, Slagle has been employed with Johnson Controls since February 2006, according to his own Facebook page."
“Succeed” is running in FL, IA, OH, VA, CO. It’s Obama speaking to camera explaining the auto bailout and shots of him intently listening to voters around a kitchen table and in a diner.
“What happened in Detroit, can happen in all sorts of communities where you combine innovation with the best workers in the world, we can succeed,” Obama says in the ad.
Of course, Detroit's no paradise -- and still has lots of problems. The Romney campaign could just as easily drive down the streets of Detroit with a camera and roll on all the foreclosed and vacant homes.
“Reverse,” running in FL and NV, uses the oft-used jobs bar graph. It’s an effort to re-educate, as the campaign would see it, voters on where things were and when. There are no words in the ad, except for Obama’s sign off.
On screen, it says, “Remember how things were just a few years ago?” It then shows red lines depicting the economy shedding jobs in 2008 and then after Obama takes office, blue lines heading upward. It ends on, “26 straight months of private sector growth. 4.25 million jobs added. Do we really want to reverse course now?”
Restore Our Future, the Super PAC supporting Mitt Romney, posted a video ahead of Mother's Day this weekend that touts Ann Romney, but also tries to revive the so-called mommy wars and the messaging fight of two weeks ago, bringing in Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen and Bill Maher.
It labels Rosen and Maher as Obama's team. Rosen works for a firm that advises the Democratic National Committee, and Maher has donated $1 million to a Super PAC supporting Obama.
*** UPDATE *** Restore Our Future is on air with this ad in the nine states it bought $4 million in ad space -- Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia.
This is Roland Sledge, running for Texas Railroad commissioner. He tries to go all Dale Peterson. It's the first extreme ad of this campaign, but don't expect it to be the last. This one depicts someone peeing on an electric fence.
"Isn't it about time we elected political leaders, that have sense enough not to pee on electric fences?"
That's a reference to what he says is a Will Rogers quote about politicians needing to learn from mistakes before they change.
What's with politicians invoking urination? The ad reminds of the ad run in 2008 in Kansas by Democrat Jim Slattery, who was running against incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts (R), that featured a giant man in a suit spraying a nozzle of gasoline on people. But it's not clear until you see the nozzle that it's gasoline.
This post was updated at 2:25 pm ET with more buy info. Added New Hampshire.
The pro-Mitt Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future is going up with $3.7 million in ads across nine swing states -- Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, and New Hampshire.
It also bought $143,000 in the Greenville, S.C., market. That's really about North Carolina, given Greenville's proximity to the state.
Notably left out, however -- at least for now -- are Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
There's no word yet on which ad Restore will be running. The buy doesn't begin until Thursday. This one has been prominently featured on its website, but it could unveil another:
It appears that the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA Action is teaming up with the environmental group League of Conservation Voters for a nearly $1 million ad buy through mid-May.
Smart Media, an ad-buying firm, reported that the two entities have purchased $980,000 on broadcast and cable TV in Colorado and Nevada from April 24 until May 14.
Asked for comment by First Read about the ad and possible partnership, Priorities USA’s Bill Burton replied, “We'll have some info for you in the next couple days.”
Priorities USA Action has so far struggled in raising money for the presidential contest. In March, it reported raising $2.5 million for the month -- up from $2 million in February -- and it has $5 million in the bank.
In another example of how outside groups are beginning to hammer President Obama in advertisements, the Karl Rove-backed group American Crossroads is up with a $175,000 radio buy -- which is pretty large for radio -- in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.
This radio spot follows a TV ad Crossroads GPS (a sister group to American Crossroads) is airing against Obama on gas prices, as well as one by the American Energy Alliance on the same subject.
Crossroads GPS, the outside GOP group backed by former George W. Bush political adviser Karl Rove and others, has a new TV ad knocking President Obama on the issue of gas prices.
In what Crossroads GPS says is a $1.7 million buy, the ad is airing in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia.
And it's in direct response to an Obama campaign TV ad in these same states -- which was rebutting an earlier ad from a GOP outside group, American Energy Alliance, with ties to the conservative Koch Brothers.
Crossroads GPS, by the way, is NOT a Super PAC. It's a 501c4 organization that DOESN'T have to disclose its donors. The Super PAC which DOES have to disclose its donors is American Crossroads.
The Obama campaign is up with its second significant TV ad of the cycle, this one a response to a recent $3 million-plus ad blitz by the American Energy Alliance, a group with ties to the conservative Koch Brothers.
The new Obama ad -- which will air in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia -- also knocks Mitt Romney.
An Obama campaign official adds to First Read: "We saw it as an opportunity to highlight the president's energy record."
It's worth noting that the campaign's first TV ad was in response to another anti-Obama advertisement by a group -- Americans for Prosperity -- with ties to the Koch Brothers.
The script of the new TV ad:
Under President Obama, domestic oil production’s at an eight-year high.
So why is Big Oil attacking him?
Because he’s fighting to end their tax breaks.
He’s raising mileage standards, and doubling renewable energy.
In all these fights, Mitt Romney’s stood with Big Oil— for their tax breaks, attacking higher mileage standards and renewables.
The American Energy Alliance -- a group with reported ties to the conservative Koch Brothers -- has launched a $3 million-plus TV ad campaign hitting President Obama on higher gas prices.
The campaign -- at a buy of $3.2 million -- will air in Colorado, Iowa, Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia from March 30 through April 12, according to NBC's ad-tracking data.
"Since Obama became president, gas prices have nearly doubled. Obama opposed exploring for energy in Alaska. He gave millions of tax dollars to Solyndra, which then went bankrupt. And he blocked the Keystone Pipeline, so we'll all pay more at the pump," the ad goes.
"Obama's Energy Secretary said we need to -- quote -- boost the prices of gasoline to the levels in Europe. That's nine dollars a gallon. But what does he care. 'I don't own a car at the moment.' Tell Obama: We can't afford his failing energy policies.
Meanwhile, the DNC is up with a web video noting that the people behind this ad campaign are from "Big Oil."
Politico reported yesterday the person who runs American Energy Alliance -- Tom Pyle -- is a former Koch Industries lobbyist who regularly attends the political summits organized by the Koch Brothers.
The pro-Santorum Super PAC -- Red, White, and Blue Fund -- is up with a new TV ad in Illinois that blasts Romney for supporting TARP and alleges that Romney's health-care law served as the "blueprint" for the 2010 federal health-care law.
The Red White and Blue Fund says the buy size is $310,000, although NBC's ad tracking partner notes that it so far has purchased a little less than that ($246,000).
Still, Team Santorum (campaign and Super PAC) is getting vastly outspent by Team Romney in Illinois, $3.3 million to $446,000 -- a 7-to-1 margin.
Here's a script for the ad: ANNOUNCER: "Meet the real Mitt Romney. Supported the Wall Street bailout putting America trillions in debt. Raised job-killing taxes and fees by over 700 million, leaving Massachusetts over 1 billion in debt. His healthcare takeover -was the blueprint for Obamacare. Mitt Romney. More debt and taxes, less jobs. More of the same. [FLASH - Transition] Rick Santorum. The leader with a bold plan for the middle class. Create dynamic jobs and cut wasteful spending. Rick Santorum for President.
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