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Bloomberg Will Target Trump in a Super Bowl Ad, Spending About $10 Million Bloomberg Will Target Trump in a Super Bowl Ad, Spending About $10 Million
(32 minutes later)
After news emerged that President Trump’s re-election campaign was looking to run a 30-second ad during the upcoming Super Bowl, the campaign of Michael R. Bloomberg decided to one-up the president: It secured a 60-second spot that will air nationally during the game, an ad buy that will likely cost at least $10 million. Michael R. Bloomberg’s presidential campaign has secured a 60-second advertising slot that will air nationally during this year’s Super Bowl telecast, an ad buy that will most likely cost at least $10 million and potentially one-up President Trump’s campaign, which has advertised during other recent sports events.
Bloomberg campaign officials confirmed the buy on Tuesday and said they would be paying “market rate,” though they would not specify the exact cost of the ad. But executives at Fox, which is broadcasting the game on Feb. 2, have said they have been seeking “north of $5 million” per 30-second ad. Bloomberg campaign officials confirmed the buy on Tuesday and said they would be paying “market rate,” though they would not specify the cost of the ad. But executives at Fox, which is broadcasting the game on Feb. 2, have said they were seeking “north of $5 million” per 30-second ad.
The campaign added that the Super Bowl ad would be a new spot that would directly target Mr. Trump, rather than a biographical spot highlighting Mr. Bloomberg’s career. The Bloomberg campaign said its Super Bowl ad would be a new spot that would directly criticize Mr. Trump, rather than a biographical spot that would highlight Mr. Bloomberg’s career.
“The biggest point is getting under Trump’s skin,” said Michael Frazier, a spokesman for the Bloomberg campaign, who added that the buy was a flex of financial might as well. “We have the means to raise a national campaign unlike any other candidate.” “The biggest point is getting under Trump’s skin,” said Michael Frazier, a spokesman for the Bloomberg campaign, adding that the buy was also a flex of financial might. “We have the means to raise a national campaign unlike any other candidate,” he said.
More than any other candidate, Mr. Bloomberg has made targeting Mr. Trump early and often a core element of his ad strategy. Before he announced his candidacy, he pledged to spend $100 million in negative advertising targeting Mr. Trump. And since he launched his candidacy, his campaign has unloaded a barrage of Facebook attack ads in swing states, seeking to erode support for Mr. Trump by highlighting what he calls broken Trump campaign promises on infrastructure, health care and dysfunction in Washington. Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign has continued to set records for political ad spending by a presidential candidate, having already dropped nearly $170 million on television and digital advertising, according to Advertising Analytics, an ad tracking firm. Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire media owner and former mayor of New York, is funding his campaign with his own money and is not soliciting donations.
But the Super Bowl ad is a show of financial force rarely seen in presidential politics. Though some campaigns have made local advertising buys during the Super Bowl, a national buy is often out of reach for a presidential campaign given the expense, and viewed as wasteful to reach a 50-state audience rather than the key swing states where campaigns would prefer to target their message. More than any other candidate for the Democratic nomination, Mr. Bloomberg has made targeting Mr. Trump a core element of his ad strategy. Before he announced his candidacy, he pledged to spend $100 million on ads criticizing the president. And since he launched his bid, his campaign has unloaded a barrage of Facebook attack ads in general-election swing states, seeking to erode support for Mr. Trump by highlighting what Mr. Bloomberg calls broken promises on infrastructure, health care and dysfunction in Washington.
But the Super Bowl ad is a show of financial force rarely seen in presidential politics. Though some campaigns have made local advertising buys during past Super Bowls, a national buy has often been out of reach, given the expense. It is also usually viewed as wasteful to pay to reach a 50-state audience rather than buying ads in the swing states where campaigns would prefer to target their message.
But Mr. Bloomberg is running an unconventional primary campaign, choosing to avoid the four states that vote first in February and instead focusing his efforts on Super Tuesday on March 3, when 14 states will vote.
“It’s actually smart for Bloomberg,” said Ken Goldstein, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco. “Bloomberg is running a national campaign, and the most efficient way to reach a lot of people in a national campaign is buying an ad in a top-rated show. And as expensive as it is, it’s cheaper than buying the ads market by market.”
The Bloomberg campaign has rapidly expanded its payroll to 800 staff members over the past month, with 500 organizers on the ground across the 14 Super Tuesday states. The expansion, first reported by NBC News, gives Mr. Bloomberg another leg up on his Democratic rivals; former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s campaign, for example, has roughly 400 staff members on its national payroll.