The Bain Capital ad that Democrats, Republicans and independent pollsters agree dogged Mitt Romney through the summer is back, and the pro-Obama super PAC behind it says reminders of Romney’s time at Bain will haunt Romney through the homestretch.
The super PAC Priorities USA announced Saturday that it’s re-airing one of the Bain TV ads from its summer blitz and preparing new spots focused on Romney’s time at the company to run in the coming days.
Viewers in the swing states of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, Virginia and Wisconsin will get to see “Stage” — a spot ABC News called “The Bain Ad That Romney Should Fear the Most” when it debuted in late June.
“Stage” has more than 2 million views on YouTube, and Priorities says the spot has left a lasting impression. “In our Ohio focus groups this week, we asked swing voters to name the television ads that stood out most to them, in all the welter of advertising they have seen,” Priorities chief Bill Burton wrote in a memo detailing the new Bain plans. “‘Stage’ is the ad that most frequently came to mind: participants were able to describe it in detail and recall the emotional impact it had on them, despite the fact that it had not run in that market for over six weeks.”
Polling over the summer showed the focus on Bain by Priorities and other Obama allies worked, driving up negative impressions of Romney’s business career. Romney and his allies have called the talk of Bain a distraction from Obama’s economic record, though Romney strategist Ed Gillespie told CNN in July that the Bain hits were “working” for Democrats.
“Stage” ran as part of a $20 million Priorities-led program through the summer. Priorities didn’t announce the amount of money being spent on the new program.
