Franken ads rile Team Coleman, recall Kennedy

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken will start two TV ads Tuesday, and the ads remind some of a 2006 Senate candidate — Republican Mark Kennedy.

In a face-to-face preview provided by the campaign, Franken’s staff gave several bloggers some details about the ads:  one, entitled “Mrs. Molin” runs 60 seconds and offers some biographical introduction to Franken as an individual.  The other, “I’m Running,” takes a more serious tack, showing Franken walking along a street in his native St. Louis Park and discussing his reasons for running directly to the camera.

The ads will appear on all four major Twin Cities network channels and in limited spots on cable channels including CNN and MSNBC.  Franken staff said that while they would be buying TV time in weekly chunks, the ads would run at least through precinct caucuses on February 5.The spots are reminiscent of Republican Mark Kennedy’s first ads in his 2006 Senate run. “Mrs. Molin” includes a folksy guitar soundtrack in the background and some quirky details about Franken’s background and roots, while “I’m Running” seeks to start the serious conversation about the issues.  This formed a parallel in my mind to Kennedy’s “a little too close” starter ad, followed by the more serious issues-based ad.  I wasn’t alone in making this connection.  However, Franken’s ads are running concurrently, not in sequence, and his staff seemed surprised by the comparison.  Staffer Andy Barr said, “The reason that first ad didn’t work for Kennedy was because it didn’t fit him — that wasn’t who he was… In a race like this, it’s important to tell people who you are and where you come from.”

Franken’s ad buy and DFL opponent Mike Ciresi’s recent move in the same direction represent an upward shift in the campaign calendar.  The 2006 Senate race, widely expected to be one of the most expensive and competitive in the nation, did not see television advertising until that July.

Barr said that these two ads are focused on communicating with the general electorate, especially people who are not part of what he called “the current political culture.” This suggested to me that the campaign is already looking beyond the DFL endorsement (by which Franken has promised to abide).  Barr agreed that bringing new people to DFL caucuses was one of their goals, but disputed the hypothesis that new voters would be necessary for a win in a state that has given several narrow victories to Republican candidates in recent election cycles — Governor Tim Pawlenty and Senator Norm Coleman, for example.

In response to the ads, Coleman’s campaign issued a statement, saying “Al Franken probably was a nice boy when he was in 4th grade in Minnesota.  But, in the 30 years he has been gone from Minnesota he went from being a cute 4th grader to an angry comedian who has made millions of dollars insulting people’s religion, taunting people who don’t agree with him and failing to offer any positive vision for the future.”