Rudy Giuliani’s campaign today unveiled a new television ad, entitled “Will.” The ad is airing in New Hampshire and Boston. The script:
MAYOR GIULIANI: “People are frustrated over immigration because the government has been talking about solving this for twenty or twenty-five years, and it’s just gotten worse. What we need here is leadership. Build a fence. Train the border patrol. Have a BorderStat system. Have a tamper-proof ID card. And then if you become a citizen you have to be able to read English, write English, speak English and understand American civics. We can end illegal immigration. The technology exists to do it, the people exist to do it. Now we need the political leadership and will to get it done. I’m Rudy Giuliani and I approve this message.”
Giuliani’s had quite a few ads up in New Hampshire – his mug was on the screen during the Ravens-Patriots Monday night game a few weeks back almost as much as Bill Belichick’s – but I’m wondering if he’s getting the “pop” from these he’s looking for. Looking at the polls, Giuliani seems to be hanging in there, mid to high teens, good for second or third place.
Is one of the lessons of 2008 going to be that ads run when nobody else is running them – like Romney’s early ones – are worth their weight in gold, while ads run when the airwaves are crowded with them turn into background noise?