Bush Camp Unveils Ads on Newspaper Web Sites

By: Charles Geraci The George W. Bush campaign for re-election has launched an advertising venture on the Internet, including several newspaper Web sites. The ad, which focuses on education and features Laura Bush, is the first time any candidate has used video in an online advertisement during a presidential campaign, according to the Bush campaign.

Newspapers and their Web sites are "an important outlet to communicate our message," Sharon Castillo, spokesperson for the Bush campaign, told E&P. "The majority of Americans get their news from their local newspapers."

The entire video ad runs about two and a half minutes and includes a Web edition of the new 30-second TV spot, "The Key to Success." Text with the ads includes the First Lady's words, "Education is my passion. And the president's too. Let me explain why."

Newspaper Web sites in key battleground states running the ad include: The Miami Herald, The Tampa Tribune, The Florida Times-Union, Des Moines Register, Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, Star Tribune of Minneapolis, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Akron Beacon Journal, The Columbus Dispatch, Dayton Daily News, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, The Oregonian of Portland, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Seattle Times and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The education ad, which launched on May 12 and appears on more than 50 Web sites, is geared toward women. In addition to newspaper Web sites, is running on sites catering to women such as Ladies Home Journal, In Style, Better Homes & Gardens, Child.com and Parents.com.

Laura Bush, who has championed the cause of education, "seemed like the natural fit to talk to other women about this issue," said Castillo. "She's respected and adored and is a great spokesperson for the president."

Statistics show that more women are using the Internet to access information. According to a demographic profile of women from 2004 Jupiter Research, women who have Internet access spend an average of 3.3 hours per day online. They are spending 46.9 percent more time on the Internet now than they did last year, representing a larger increase than any other major medium.

"This ad is just another illustration of how our campaign is reaching out to all Americans with all outlets," said Castillo.

In March, the Kerry campaign tested online advertising on The New York Times site. Within the first six hours, the campaign claims to have collected five times as much as the cost of the ad.

From January through April, Kerry's ads -- which, unlike the new Bush ad, do not feature video -- have run at least 60 million times on various Web sites, according to Nielsen NetRatings, which tracks Internet ads.

In 2000, Bush and Gore experimented with online advertising, but the 2004 campaigns are using the Internet much more vigorously.