The Republican National Committee has deployed a new strategy which features somewhat unlikely faces as the stars of an ad campaign to push the party’s revamped image.
In an effort to engage and win over young and minority voters, the RNC announced Monday the “Create Your American Dream” campaign that highlights a diverse group of Republican voters who discuss political issues that are personal to them and why they are a member of the Republican Party.
One of the six ads tells the story of Sergio De La Pena, a Hispanic father who decided to take control of his childrens’ education by home-schooling them so they could avoid the pitfalls of the public education system. Another ad features Scott Greenberg, a millenial Republican who wants an “all-of-the-above” energy policy.
“I feel pretty lucky to have a job,” says Greenberg in the ad. “So many people I know are unemployed. It’s like their lives are stuck in neutral. So I get ticked off at politicians who say they want to help the unemployed and then vote for regulations that make it impossible to hire anyone.”
Emily Ku, an Asian-American recent college graduate, tells the camera how she is unable to give back due to the shrinking job market.
“I made sacrifices for my education because I want a career that lets me give back,” Ku said. “But for my generation there are so many question marks after graduation. I don’t want anyone to guarantee my success but I don’t need extra hoops to jump through either.”
The six-figure ad buy which will run in 14 states reflects a shift in the tone and messaging a year since the RNC report’s release about why the party lost the election in 2012. The report revealed that voters viewed the GOP as “out-of-touch” and called for the party to become more “inclusive and welcoming” to younger, women, and minority voters. “This ad campaign will highlight why so many million Americans vote Republican,” RNC chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement. “It’s because we fight to empower people. It’s because we believe in the value of every person. It’s because we know that each American should have the chance to create their own American Dream.” The ads will run in states where the 2014 Senate races are heating up — Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., and New York. The collection of ads will also stream on Hulu to reach out to a younger audience, a talk show on TVOne to reach the African-American demographic, and on DramaFever.com in three states to target Asian-Americans. The campaign has also bought ads to run on Facebook and Google, and Telemundo will run the ad featuring Sergio De La Pena. According to a RNC press release, the ads tested positively with focus groups that included “swing voters in Ohio and New Mexico, and tested particularly well with women, bilingual voters, and disaffected Obama voters.”
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