SKDKnickerbocker commissioned EpandMedia to produce two key radio ads that helped score a victory for Democrat Joe Donnelly in the 2012 US Senate race in Indiana. A three-term Representative in the US Congress, Donnelly squared off against Republican Tea Party favorite Richard Mourdock for the seat formerly held by retiring Senator Richard Lugar. Lugar, a centrist Republican, had held the seat since 1976 but was ousted in this year’s primary by Mourdock. Donnelly’s win was considered one of the most surprising of the 2012 elections.
One ad, “Crazy,” directed to the African-American voter, stressed Donnelly’s history of helping save auto industry jobs, and his ability to work together with President Obama to protect Social Security and Medicare and to improve education. This contrasts with Richard Mourdock’s notorious ‘my-way-or-the-highway’ philosophy that has been often cited as the root problem with this gridlocked Congress.
A second ad, “Coffee,” directed to general market voters, presented a scene in a coffee shop with local folks talking about Donnelly’s endorsements by a wide array of Indiana’s most influential newspapers, and his desirable “Hoosier values.” The ads were conceived and written by Bill Knapp, SKDK partner and chief ad consultant for the Donnelly campaign.