Presidential hopeful taps veteran ad man George Lois
Originally published in AdAge
PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL TAPS VETERAN AD MAN GEORGE LOIS
Nine Spots Created for Dennis Kucinich Campaign
December 23, 2003
By Ira Teinowitz
WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich today unveiled his latest campaign ads, created by veteran ad executive George Lois, that will air in Iowa, New Hampshire and Washington D.C. starting in January.
Mr. Lois, who retired from Lois/USA in 2000, came into the Kucinich campaign after The New York Times, doing a feature story about the strategy various ad executives would have taken to promote the field of Democratic contenders, asked him to design a poster for the Ohio Representative.
Enlisted as volunteer
That poster, with the phrase "The eyes that see through the lies," drew the attention of Rep. Kucinich, and Mr. Lois was enlisted as a volunteer.
Mr. Lois, 72, said today he created nine spots for the campaign and another poster. Mr. Lois tapped Danny Glover, another supporter of the former Cleveland mayor, to do voice-overs for the ads.
All the ads use a "Fear ends, hope begins" billboard.
Young voters
The one spot released today is aimed at young voters. A campaign spokesman said the others will be about issues Rep. Kucinich has been talking about in the campaign, including health care and foreign trade.
"Listen up young America. ... The preemptive war continues to drive our foreign policy. If our volunteer troops are stretched thinner and thinner, you could be facing compulsory draft. All young Americans deserve a world without end, not a war without end," says the spot, which uses "The eyes that see through the lies" tagline.
The Kucinich campaign today declined to discuss spending for the ads, saying more details would be unveiled at an Iowa press conference before a debate there in early January.
Ad career
Mr. Lois, the designer of some classic Esquire magazine covers in the 1960s and early '70s, went on to craft classic advertising campaigns for Xerox, MTV, Lean Cuisine and Maypo, first with Doyle Dane Bernbach and then with his own agency. He later wrote an autobiography, George Be Careful.
Mr. Lois, who had worked on a number of Senatorial campaigns in the past, including those of New York Sens. Robert F. Kennedy and Jacob Javits, said his discussions about advertising have led to daily conversations with Mr. Kucinich on other campaign issues.
"This is a guy who could change America," he said. "It's the first time I can vote for somebody [for the presidency] rather than against someone. I voted against the Nixons and the Reagans."
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