President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is launching a new ad focused on Black voters, touting how the Biden-Harris administration has “made equity a cornerstone of their administration’s policy agenda, and are lowering costs and creating economic opportunity for Black America,” according to a press release from the campaign.
Titled “Get Ahead,” the spot will air during Saturday’s college football matchup between Colorado and the University of Southern California with a goal of reaching a general election audience. The campaign is looking to capitalize on the large audience that Colorado games have drawn, with former NFL star Deion Sanders as the team’s head coach; according to ESPN, the University of Colorado’s first three games of the season rated 77% higher among Black viewers, accounting for 23% of the audience for those games, compared to 15% for other teams’ games.
The campaign says “Get Ahead” is the second “African American-specific creative” of the ad buy, part of a $25 million campaign in battleground states. It includes a “significant investment” in Black-owned media properties, and according to the campaign is the “largest and earliest investment in Black media for a reelection campaign in history.”
“Get Ahead” will run on TV and digital in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, as well as Milwaukee, Detroit, Raleigh, and Charlotte, and digital-only in Las Vegas and Phoenix.
“It just so happens that many among the millions of fans tuning in every Saturday to watch Colorado football represent the Biden-Harris coalition,” Biden-Harris 2024 communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement. “So as millions tune in Saturday afternoon, we’re making sure that we’re tapping into moments like these and presenting audiences with President Biden’s historic record of accomplishment for Black families.”
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The ad highlights Biden’s “increased funding for Black businesses,” notes that upon taking office in 2021 he signed an executive order aimed at “advancing racial equity.” It touts the administration’s work toward lowering the costs of health premiums and prescription drugs, and capping the cost of insulin at $35 for seniors. “Getting ahead means getting the same chance to succeed as everyone else,” the ad voiceover states.
The Biden-Harris campaign has worked in recent moths to reach voters of color, with recent polls suggesting their support among young Black voters has waned. Vice President Kamala Harris embarked on a “Fighting for Our Freedoms” tour of historically Black colleges and universities that included a stop at Reading Area Community College earlier this month.
This article was updated at 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 30, 2023 to clarify the source of the news release announcing the ad campaign.