Did Ads Make the Difference In Massachusetts Senate Race?

In this week’s column I wrote about the campaign ads in the recent Massachusetts U.S. Senate race between Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown. Check out the following videos: Did these ads impact the outcome of the race?

Here’s the “Different People, Same Message” ad I mentioned, in which Brown took advantage of Coakley’s weeklong hiatus from the campaign trail to compare himself to the late Ted Kennedy:

Coakley responded with a series of ads that many considered negative, including the “Lockstep” ad below. Love the narrator’s deep voice and the scary background music. Plus they spelled “Massachusetts” wrong in the final frames. Yes, really.

Finally, in the ad below, Brown opens with the line “By now, you’ve probably seen the negative ads launched by Martha Coakley and her supporters.” A safe assumption: The TV ads from both candidates ran nonstop on local stations, especially in the final week of the campaign. Often, Brown’s “By now you’ve probably seen the negative ads” ad ran immediately following Coakley’s “lockstep” ad.

Check out this week’s column, Coakley’s Failed Senate Bid: Four Lessons for Healthcare Marketers for more on Coakley’s communications strategy (or lack thereof) and get some ideas on how you can avoid making the same mistakes she did in your own healthcare marketing campaigns.