DNC Launches Largest-Ever Spanish Ad Campaign

EDITORS NOTE: The Democratic National Committee announced that Spanish-language ads, shown below, featuring President Barack Obama telling voters to stand with his party as it tries to defend majorities in the House and Senate. The party said the ad effort is its largest in Spanish-language paid media and comes as Obama was set to campaign in California and Nevada, both states with large Hispanic populations. A statement from the Democratic National Committee is featured after the video.

WASHINGTON – The Democratic National Committee has announced the Democratic Party’s largest-ever investment in Hispanic paid media for a midterm election. The paid media campaign is part of the Democratic Party’s most comprehensive Hispanic voter education, mobilization, and outreach effort ever in a non-Presidential election year.

The DNC began airing national radio and television advertisements on Univision’s television and radio networks. The ads will air through Election Day. The DNC will spend more than $1 million on paid advertising in the Hispanic community through its national, regional, and online efforts.

“Hispanic voters are not only critically important to Democrats’ success this fall, but also to our country’s future,” said DNC Chairman Tim Kaine. “We’re reaching out to the Hispanic community because we believe that by working together we can ensure Democratic victories this fall, and continue the tradition of successful Democratic leadership that is devoted to opening up new opportunities for Hispanic Americans and hard-working Americans of all backgrounds.”

The national television ad, entitled “Don’t Go Back”/“No Regresemos”, notes that President Obama and Democrats have gotten the nation’s economy out of the ditch and kept the doors of higher education open to children while standing up to Wall Street and insurance companies. The ad calls on voters to stand with President Obama on November 2^nd.

The national radio ad, also entitled “Don’t go Back”/“No regresemos”, highlights how President Obama and Democrats have moved the country forward by getting the economy out of the ditch, improving access to college, and putting people back to work. It also lays out the choice facing voters this fall, noting that Republicans have vowed to take the country back to the old status quo, under which credit card companies, insurance companies, and big banks wrote all the rules and were able to discriminate against customers at will.

The television and radio ads both highlight President Obama’s recent Moving America Forward speech in Madison, Wisconsin.

The radio ad closes with President Obama speaking to voters in Spanish: “Soy Barack Obama. Te necesito a mi lado. Ayúdame a defender lo que hemos comenzado. Este 2 de noviembre, alza la voz. Y juntos, seguiremos adelante.” (This is Barack Obama. I need you by my side. Help me defend what we started. This November 2nd, raise your voice. And together we’ll continue to move forward.)

English and Spanish versions of both scripts can be found below, at the bottom of this release.

The DNC’s paid advertising effort is just one component of the Democratic Party’s unprecedented effort to engage voters across the country, including in the Hispanic community, for the November 2^nd election. As part of the DNC’s $50 million Vote 2010 campaign, the DNC has embarked on its most substantial effort ever in a midterm election to turn out long-time and newer Hispanic voters, which includes:

· The launch of a new Spanish-language website with all the information that Americans need to register and vote – wherever they live. That website, www.VotarEsPoder.com, is an incredible tool for Hispanic voters.

· Outreach to first-time Hispanic voters, sporadic Hispanic voters, and reliable Hispanic voters through bilingual phone banking, Latina to Latina phone banking, bilingual materials, and canvassing.

· Bilingual multimedia on specific issues, including a Spanish-language video on jobs and the economy, a direct-to-camera Spanish-language video with DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, and a bilingual video celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.

· Targeted Commit to Vote events for Hispanics. For example, Organizing for America held World Cup watch parties at which they had commit to vote forms.

· Aggressive outreach to national political and business leaders at the events of major Hispanic organizations like the National Council of La Raza, LULAC, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, as well as DNC-sponsored events. In just the past few months, those events have included:

o A DNC Latino Summit with Hispanic activists and community leaders in June;

o A conference call with Chairman Kaine and national Hispanic leaders in August;

o A conference call with Chairman Kaine, the Honorable Hilda Solis, and national Hispanic leaders in September;

o And a roundtable discussion between Chairman Kaine and Hispanic leaders in September, among others.

· Multiple efforts to reach out to Spanish-language media. Governor Kaine, who took time off from law school to teach school in Honduras, is a fluent Spanish speaker and has made numbers appearances on Spanish-language television and radio.