Newspaper Web sites get Bush ads

By: Charles Geraci The George W. Bush re-election campaign 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 a candidate has used video in an online advertisement during a presidential campaign, according to the Bush camp.

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 papers." The entire video ad runs about 2.5 minutes. Newspaper sites in key battleground states running the ad include The Miami Herald, The Des Moines Register, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.

The education ad, which launched on May 12 and appears on more than 50 Web sites, is geared toward women. In 2000, Bush and Gore experimented with online advertising, but the 2004 campaigns are using the Internet much more vigorously. Sen. John Kerry has done well with online ads, but without the video component.