Good evening and welcome to another edition of Doomscroll. How’s everyone adjusting to the 5 PM sunset? Same. Let’s wallow together and remember what President Obama said: we’re all complicit to some degree. So, I blame all of you for my impending seasonal affective disorder. Thanks a lot, you commies!
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about advertising on Twitter! Two-thirds of everyone who responded said the YES they have already returned to using Twitter ads. Unsurprisingly, ⅔ of you also said you plan on using Twitter ads in the future. One-third said you will only spend money on Twitter if the client asks you to. Here are a couple insightful comments I got that may help others make up their minds:
Never been big on it, but given some diminishing returns on Facebook, why not give it a try?
If you are looking to potentially expand your House file to new donors, one of the easiest places to do that is Twitter. I will always say though, it takes a while for Ad leads to convert (regardless of the platform) so give yourself time for the leads to actually convert.
Thanks, friends! This week’s One Question is super simple (yay!): What’s your takeaway from Election Night 2023? Doesn’t even have to be a digital takeaway. The sky’s the limit here so don’t hold back! I think it’s fair to say the results across the board were a little disappointing. Is it a money problem? A messaging problem? A turnout problem? Diagnose it, ya’ll. On a brighter note, two-thumbs up for an Election Night and a presidential debate all in the same week…how luck are we?!?!?
Who’s Doing What
--Teaser-in-Chief
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan released another ad teasing a potential No Labels presidential run. The ad itself is fine; a little long, but it has a solid message that’ll resonate. His pac, An America United spent about $700 promoting for a couple days on Facebook this week. So what’s the play here? I say if he’s going to do it, he should just do it already. Sh** or get off the pot, governor! I mean that in the kindest, most respectful way possible. See the ad and read more about the potential of a Hogan campaign in Axios.
-- Bro Bo for Congress
A former football player named Bo Hines is running for Congress in North Carolina’s 6th congressional district - and he’s a mere 28 years old, which is giving me major Madison Cawthorn vibes (gulp). This one is interesting. His primary opponents are already taking swipes at him for trying to buy a seat and for district-shopping (apparently he’s announced campaigns in 5 different districts in the last 2 years?). Indeed, he lost his race in the 13th congressional district in 2013. Nevertheless, he’s got a fantastic website, and it’s worth checking out. Typically I’m anti-pop-up, but I actually like how they’re being used here. What’s more, his announcement video is one of the best I’ve seen lately. This race is one to keep an eye on!
--We all make mistakes
Even Speakers of the House! We’ve all been there, and whoever sent this email I want them to know: lol, sucker! Just kidding. Seriously, who among us hasn’t sent an email with an embarrassing typo and promised to put politics over people??
2024 Roundup
Doug Burgum released a new ad after not making the debate stage in Miami. Watch it here.
Vivek Ramaswamy unveiled notoneocons.com, which asks people to sign the pledge to stop World War III. See the site here.
Vivek also attempted to capitalize off Nikki Haley calling him “scum” during the debate by releasing some “rebel scum” merchandise. Get yours here.
Nikki Haley, for her part, didn’t seem to do anything to capitalize on the “scum” comment. Unless I just missed it…
Ron DeSantis started running fundraising ads featuring a face-to-camera video from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. See it here.
Chris Christie is putting an overlay on some videos he posted on Twitter with a donate QR code. See it here. Maybe he (and others) have done this before, but I just noticed it this week.
Who’s Spending Where
From November 2 - 8, the top conservative spender on Facebook ads was Protect Women Ohio, which spent about $320,000 on ads urging Ohioans to vote no on Issue 1 (sigh). Americans for Prosperity spent about $183,000 on ads, while a group called Facts for Peace spent nearly $173,000 on ads defending the existence of Israel.The Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism spent $88,000, while PragerU rounds out the top five with about $74,000 in ad spend.
Protect Women Ohio was also the top center-right spender on Google from November 2 - 8, spending $103,000 to advocate against Issue 1. SFA Inc spent $91,000, mostly on some search ads and a video hitting DeSantis on China. Make America Great Again Inc spent $78,000 on ads, while AFP Action spent $74,000 on some more anti-Trump ads. Kentucky Values came in fifth place with about $40,000 in ad spend.
P2P
Industry Watch
Facebook is banning the use of AI tools in political ads. Womp womp. I guess I’m not surprised. Facebook high-ups, in their eternal quest to please the left and atone for 2016, is at the forefront - the FOREFRONT - in stopping the spread of misinformation. They’re literally defending democracy, One. Policy. At. A. Time. Here’s more, from Reuters:
Facebook owner Meta (META.O) is barring political campaigns and advertisers in other regulated industries from using its new generative AI advertising products, a company spokesperson said on Monday, denying access to tools that lawmakers have warned could turbo-charge the spread of election misinformation.
Meta publicly disclosed the decision in updates posted to its help center on Monday night, following publication of this story. Its advertising standards prohibit ads with content that have been debunked by the company's fact-checking partners but do not have any rules specifically on AI.
The Grapevine
Check out the 2023 CampaignTech Award winners here.
Think Big Media is opening a west coast office. See the announcement in Politico.
An anonymous campaign staffer whined to the Daily Caller about the debates and TheDC printed it as news. Go figure.
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Fav pie recipe? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
The Democrat-aligned group Hold Them Accountable PAC released a new ad this week calling on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign and it’s…amazing. I don’t even care that it's a freakish 2 minutes long. I watched every second. Watch it here.
From the other side of the tracks:
Ok so this is still kinda-sorta political, BUT! Minnesota decided to crowdsource submissions for a new state flag, and honestly, the designs are worth looking at. :D
Personally, I’m rooting for submission F1284. Why? I recognize true art when I see it.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!