Indie Candidate Daggett Lampoons Rivals In TV Ad
Independent candidate Chris Daggett, looking to boost his visibility in the New Jersey gubernatorial race, has launched a new must-watch TV ad using look-alikes to mock the two major party candidates.
The scene: an escalator breaks down, probably at one of the Garden State's wonderful shopping malls. One passenger, Gov. Jon Corzine (D), is portrayed as an aloof, Wall Street Journal reading figure hoping someone will bail him out. Another, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R), is shown as a rotund angry man shouting for help. "If someone doesn't fix this right now, people going to jail. Jail I said, jail!" he bellows.
"When Democrats and Republican fail New Jersey, it's up to us to take New Jersey back," a narrator says. "Follow me," Daggett himself says, leading people past the fake candidates, and directing fire men to help the other guys who "still need rescuing."
The ad launched Sunday in the New York market, and will air on broadcast and cable during news programming and Yankees games, spokesperson Tom Johnson told RCP this morning. The ad is the brainchild of Bill Hillsman, who has a reputation for doing these type of "quirky" ads, for candidates like Jesse Ventura.
"We're trying to raise our name recognition here, and we'll be saying a lot more as the campaign goes on," Johnson said.
Daggett is polling in the mid-single digits at this point, with many believing his role in the race will ultimately be that of spoiler. Unclear, though, is whether he draws more votes from Christie or Corzine.
"We don't care who we hurt," Johnson said. "People in New Jersey are understandably very upset with the state of affairs. ... And neither party is willing or able to fix the fiscal situation." Daggett is "in it to win it," he adds.
The body doubles were cast by Hillsman through an open casting call. And they might appear again before the campaign ends.