Hickenlooper buys $850,000 in TV ad time for the fall

Democratic nominee for governor John Hickenlooper announced yesterday that his campaign has reserved $850,000 in television time for this coming fall.

The campaign had conducted an email drive to enlist donations specifically to buy TV time.

“We pledged to supporters that every dollar raised from our email effort would go to purchase time on television,” Hickenlooper for Colorado campaign manager Mike Melanson said in a press release. “Because of the enthusiastic response from those emails, we were able to reserve $850,000 of ad time when it really matters. ”

Financial reports should be released today which the campaign says will show $380,841 in contributions during May. The campaign’s media purchase, along with a $123,000 mailer led to $1.138 million in expenditures during the month with just over $130,000 in cash remaining on hand.

“We began this race a year and $1 million behind, so we knew every possible dollar would be needed for delivering John’s message to voters,” Melanson said. “The moves we made in May will stretch every dollar this fall, and ensure we’re talking to voters when it counts.”

Hickenlooper seems to be making the most of his late start in the race. He has toured the state extensively already, is free of any primary challenge and has raised a lot of cash.

Melanson’s email letter, sent out the last week of May, asked specifically for money to spend on TV and played on Hickenlooper’s past success in making entertaining campaign ads.

I’m John Hickenlooper’s campaign manager Mike Melanson, but unlike John, I have no sense of humor.

We’re in the final hours of a fundraising deadline, and I need your help. No zebra suits. No threats from fictitious coyotes. No cute turns of phrase. We have to buy TV ads, and your response to this email will dictate how much we can spend. Every dime you contribute today, we’ll spend on TV — no joke.

Click here to contribute $5 before our midnight fundraising deadline to help us get on the air and fight the misleading attack ads!

See, I told you I wasn’t funny. My kids don’t even like my jokes.

But John has always been known for his ability to connect with people through TV ads, and we’re not going to disappoint. We’re going to strike when it matters, and we’re going to make sure everyone knows John is the only candidate running for governor who has created jobs, balanced tough budgets and brought a businessman’s perspective to government.

But it’s up to you to make sure people see those ads…

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Scot Kersgaard has been managing editor of a political newspaper, editor and co-owner of a ski town newspaper, executive editor of eight high-tech magazines (where he worked with current Apple CEO Tim Cook), deputy press secretary to a U.S. Senator, and an outdoors columnist at the Rocky Mountain News. He has an English degree from the University of Washington. He was awarded a fellowship to study internet journalism at the University of Maryland's Knight Center for Specialized Journalism. He was student body president in college. He spends his free time hiking and skiing.

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