ShareThisWilliam DeJean thinks the media hasn't been fair to his favorite candidate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. The 46-year-old Chicago dentist has maxed out the amount of cash he can legally contribute to her campaign. So, on one recent day, DeJean became a one-man political media message machine with the help of a fledgling San Francisco firm called VoterVoter.com.On DeJean's dime, TV ads ripping Sen. Barack Obama ran 13 times over three days in West Virginia, site of Tuesday's primary. They carried the federally required tagline: "Paid for by William DeJean and not authorized by any campaign or campaign committee."While online fundraising and YouTube advertising continue to explode and reshape political campaigns, the 30-second TV spot is still king when it comes to reaching a mass audience of undecided voters. Now, technology is making it easier -- and cheaper -- for individuals and under-funded candidates and organizations to get their message on television, even if they're not particularly wealthy.That's the good news.On the other hand, it just became easier for people to run the type of Swift Boat TV ads that helped sink Democrat John Kerry four years ago. There is no federal limit on independent expenditures, and $3 billion is expected to be spent on political advertising on television this year."If Tom Hanks can put his fat face on YouTube for Obama, then why shouldn't I be able to put something out there for Hillary?" said DeJean, referring to the movie star's online video endorsement of Obama this month.Another DeJean-approved ad could be on the air later this week in Oregon, site of a May 20 Democratic primary. The $10,000 total for both is a fraction of what it normally costs to create and air an ad on television."We are entering an age when there is mass participation in the creation of a political campaign. People are not just showing up to vote on Election Day," said Micah Sifry, editor of TechPresident.com, which examines the intersection of technology and politics. Now, Sifry said, it is easier for anyone to become a TV ad player because sites like VoterVoter.com and Los Angeles-based SpotRunner.com "handle a lot of the scut work it takes to get an ad on the air... "People are always saying political campaigns cost too much, but they never ask where the money goes. Well, this is where the money goes -- into buying media," said Republican political and media consultant Dan Schnur, who serves on the advisory board of Spot Runner, which is helping underfunded candidates and organizations buy TV time."Up until now," Schnur said, "you'd have to be a large-scale political action committee or a multimillionaire to do something like this."Outfits like VoterVoter.com and Spot Runner cut down on production costs by offering templates of ads customers can choose from. Once the candidate chooses the ad, the companies run the gauntlet of legal and media-buying hurdles to help the candidate or the client plan a TV campaign.For example, say you're a candidate browsing for an "arresting political ad for your candidate's tough stance on immigration," as one of Spot Runner's ads is touted. Spot Runner's library offers a 30-second template featuring an SUV driving down a long dirt road as ominous music and a swirling wind swell in the background. On-screen flash the words, "Problems on the other side of the border are becoming our problems. A vote for (insert candidate's name) is a vote for border control. (Candidate's name) knows how to keep our communities safe, secure and American."The cost of the template ad: $499. Buying airtime is an additional charge, and varies by television market. Airtime in a top 10 media market such as San Francisco is vastly more expensive than it is in rural Nebraska. But these firms will help plan a candidate's media strategy.The firms can get an ad on the air within a day or two, provided they have the templates. VoterVoter.com also allows users to upload their own ads, and in a social networking twist, enables groups of people to contribute money toward buying TV time.E-mail Joe Garofoli at jgarofoli(at)sfchronicle.com (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Web sites enable campaign TV ads on the cheap
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