"Shirley & Banister Public Affairs [3] is supporting a $100K ad campaign with a PR push for the conservative-backed Club for Growth [4], which is attacking Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean in key primary states," O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. "The firm's national PR support to secure free media play for the ad comes as Dean today struck a blow to his opponents by locking up the endorsement of former Vice President and 2000 Democratic nominee Al Gore [5].
The CFG ad likens Dean to failed Democratic presidential contenders George McGovern, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis. 'For three decades, Democratic presidential candidates have supported huge tax increases,' a voice over begins, over images of the three former nominees, which are later slapped with the word 'Rejected' beside their pictures. 'This year they're back,' it continues. The spot contends Dean says he'll raise taxes on the average family by more than nineteen hundred dollars a year, apparently through his pledge to repeal President George Bush's two major tax cuts since 2001." The ad began running Dec. 4 in Des Moines, Iowa, and Manchester, New Hampshire.