Dem
51
GOP
49
The Detroit Lions will play the Green Bay Packers today. In case you missed it, the Lions are from Michigan and the Packers are from Wisconsin, two key swing states. Joe Biden's campaign manager noticed and is going to run ads throughout the game in both states. It is expected that 850,000 households in Detroit alone will be watching as well as a somewhat smaller number in Wisconsin. These ads are part of a $25 million ad blitz the Biden campaign announced in August.
The ads are positive and talk about Biden's working-class upbringing in scrappy Scranton and what he has done as president to help working people. The first ad talks about drug pricing, health care premiums, and how clean energy will lower power costs. The second ad is focused on what Biden has done to lower the cost of prescription drugs. They are all about kitchen table issues with nary a word about bathrooms, and who should use which one.
These ads are not Biden's first foray into football. He has run ads during a Chicago Bears-Carolina Panthers game, a Packers-Pittsburgh Steelers game, and a Miami Dolphins-New England Patriots game earlier this month. The idea is that football games draw a diverse audience that cuts across many demographics. Democrats, Republicans, and independents all watch football, as do whites, Blacks, Latinos, and other groups. We don't have data on it, but our guess is that more men than women watch pro football. And that's a demographic where Biden needs help. (V)