Trump vs. Biden: Will presidential debates matter more than campaigning in battlegrounds?
Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall joins the debate.
Flush with fundraising dollars, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's campaign announced Wednesday morning that it’s dishing out an eye-popping $65 million this week for an ad blitz on TV, digital, radio and print.
Biden’s campaign described the buy as “the single largest paid media investment the campaign has made to date,” and deputy press secretary Matt Hill tweeted that the former vice president’s team is “going big on paid media and reaching voters across the map.”
The campaign spotlighted that the ads will run in 10 key general election battleground states: Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Nebraska and Minnesota.
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While President Trump's campaign had the upper hand early in the general election when it came to ad spending, Biden’s campaign has dramatically outspent the president’s team since mid-August when it comes to running TV commercials. The spending between the two campaigns is much more competitive when it comes to digital advertising.
Last week the Biden campaign outspent the Trump campaign $26.7 million to $8.2 million to run spots on TV, according to Advertising Analytics, a leading ad tracking firm. The Trump campaign edged the Biden campaign last week when it came to digital ad spending -- $12.6 million to $9.1 million.
Joe Biden speaks before participating in a roundtable discussion with veterans, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Biden campaign’s Wednesday announcement comes two days after Fox News was first to report that the Trump campaign was going up with a new $10 million ad blitz with spots showcasing the president’s economic achievements.
The president took to Twitter on Tuesday to push back against media reports spotlighting the ad buys.
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“We are advertising all over the place, but as much as we do, the Fake News likes to say we aren’t. Just being smart,” Trump tweeted.
Advertising Analytics said that as of Wednesday morning, they've already tracked $34 million in ad spending by the Biden campaign on TV and radio.
Advertising Analytics vice president John Link told Fox News that the move by the Biden campaign "represents the largest weekly ad buy so far this cycle. Looking at recent digital and over-the-top (people watching on streaming services) weekly spend trends, there is a clear path to a $65 million week."
As of Wednesday morning, the ad tracking firm said they've spotted $16.6 million in spending on TV ads this week by the Trump campaign.
Paying for the pricy ad buys doesn’t appear to be an issue for the Biden campaign – or for the Trump team. The former vice president’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee last month hauled a record-shattering $364.5 million dollars in fundraising. That easily outpaced an impressive $210 million brought in by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
The new Biden ad blitz includes releasing a pair of new ads today that focus on families with children who have preexisting conditions and the importance of protecting their health care.
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