Posted on 10/29/2011 10:00:12 AM PDT by freespirited
While Herman Cain's viral Web ad — in which chief of staff Mark Block pointedly takes a drag from a cigarette after extolling the presidential candidate's virtues — might have raised eyebrows among political strategists and heckles in Internet comment sections, the ad seems to have also raised the rate at which the insurgent campaign is bringing in fundraising dollars.
Cain has brought in nearly $2 million within the last week alone, nearly doubling his weekly returns earlier this month, his campaign told The Wall Street Journal. By contrast, Cain only brought in $2.8 million over the entire third quarter.
"Our donations online have shot up a lot since that ad,” Block told the Journal. “The money we are getting is wildly beyond our expectations."
Cain's campaign has argued that the ad was a manifestation of a nontraditional, down-to-earth style that has caught the Republican zeitgeist. The polls seem to echo that analysis, with Cain leading Mitt Romney 24 percent to 20 in a Fox News survey released earlier this week.
The candidate said earlier this week that the ad "did a great job" and represented his grassroots message.
"We have a saying in my campaign — let Herman be Herman. This is the attitude that I have when I do debates. This is the attitude I have when I do interviews: Let Herman be Herman. Mark Block is my chief of staff. And we also say, 'Let Mark be Mark,' " Cain said on Fox News. "Mark happens to be a smoker. He knows it's a bad habit, but he smokes. And so we weren't trying to send any subliminal message whatsoever. Many of us found it hilarious, because we know Mark Block."
Block said the ad enforced the idea of Cain as a "different kind of presidential candidate."
“Yes, the smoking part of that ad was controversial — and I don’t in any way condone smoking — but the message that Herman Cain is a different kind of presidential candidate is certainly resonating across the country,” Block said.
And a good cigarette as soon as I open my eyes. So there!
Controversy is good. It also gets you a lot of free TV time and ink. Good move Mark.
Mark is a big boy he must know the bad things that comes with smoking..so leave him alone..
Don’t look now, but I heard he has over $5 Million *now*!
He doesn’t condone smoking....He doesn’t condone abortion either.
I don't smoke but, to some extent, I like the smell of cigarette smoke. It evokes memory of my childhood when my parents and grandparents would enjoy a smoke along with a cup of coffee to start the day with good cheer.
Kudos to the Cain campaign for this unconventional ad and a strike (Lucky Strike?) at the nanny staters.
This is a sneaky strategy. He should win the smoking and tobacco growing States:
The chart of Top Producing Tobacco States supports this contention. North Carolina has the most tobacco acreage by far and ranks as the 14th highest smoking state. Kentucky, the 2nd largest tobacco producer, ranks 3 in the nation for highest per cent of its population being smokers. Virginia and Connecticut appear to be outliers.
Also check the map at this site - very smart targeting!
http://blog.bestandworststates.com/2010/02/10/smoking-states-and-tobacco-producing-states.aspx
The local press actually asked the guy who did Jesse Ventura’s supposedly edgy ads what he thought and he said the ad was stupid and ineffective. HA!
His clients would kill for a $2 million immediate reaction to one of his ads, not to mention all the navel gazing and “subliminal message” analysis going on in the media. While Herman just smiles that knowing smile.
Neither does Cain. So how about you drop the lying smear posts Perrybot?
You may be on to something. Letterman is making fun of that ad in some of his Top 10 lists. That's giving Cain more exposure to the lefties, who may check him out further and decide they like what he has to say.
I’m not a smoker, but the nanny state should leave people alone. Glad to see Cain willing to stand up for liberty over tyranny.
ping FYI
I am a former smoker.
Formerly, completely hooked. For real. Quit, because it bothered me I could not control my smoking. So ... I quit.
Flat out. Several times in fact, before I finally succeeded. Just as with most things worth accomplishing.
I DESPISE smoking Nazis. If you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, then shut up, get lost, mind your own da*n business, get out of our faces, and get out of our lives!!
Dumb*ss anti-American liberals.
Your boy Rick condones illegal immigrants.
I’m positive he still does coke. He’s given half a dozen speeches high a kite, including his recent CBC gangsta rant.
I wish he’d go back to weed. At least he’d do less.
BS!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.