Ooops. In his first campaign ad out of the gate, U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer came out with a zippy spot touting his ties to Colorado – the fact that his daughter goes to the Air Force Academy and that he proposed to his wife Maureen on the top of Pikes Peak.
Though it’s a fun spot that ought to play well with many voters, the mountain shown in the ad isn’t Pikes Peak at all, but Mt. McKinley – in, yes, Alaska. A frustrated Dick Wadhams, Schaffer's campaign manager, conceded the mistake and said the ad would be pulled and re-edited with Colorado mountains.
Wadhams said that the campaign raised the issue with their media consultant during rough cuts, directing them to make sure the mountain shots were authentic - something that obviously didn't happen.
But for an ad meant to underscore Schaffer’s strong ties to his home state, it's exactly the kind of screw-up the campaign doesn’t want to make. This is going to be an incredibly hard-fought campaign and one the Republicans desperately need to win. Why give your Democratic opponent those kinds of easy hits?
The ad is no longer available online, but you can view a copy of it here:
