With Election Day just around the corner, the former vice president is leaving no stone unturned in a bid to ensure his victory in Nov. Keeping in line with that, Joe Biden is reportedly gearing up to go big with ad spending during every NFL game for the rest of the election season.
Biden's campaign has purchased at least one slot for advertising during every game between now and Election Day, a campaign spokesperson told NPR. The news comes in the wake of Biden's campaign bellying up to Trump's campaign large cash advantage earlier in the presidential race.
Millions of Americans tune in for the NFL games, which usually serve as premium advertising slots for campaigns citing these wide viewership ratings. Biden's campaign's latest moves come as the president's campaign has targeted specific games with its own ads.
"The NFL, even pre-COVID, is the most powerful advertising vehicle," John Link, who is an analyst with media intelligence firm Ad Analytics said in a statement to NPR, explaining the Biden campaign's move. Link went on to suggest that in some markets, the numbers of Sunday are Super Bowl-like.
Trump and other Republicans have separated themselves from the NFL in recent months citing players' protests against racism and police brutality, with some players kneeling during the performance of the national anthem before games. Criticizing this form of protest during an interview with sports radio host Clay Travis in Aug., Trump had said if they can't stand for the national anthem, they shouldn't open.
The president said he would love to see them open and are doing every possible for getting them open. Earlier this week, Biden's campaign presented a minute-long campaign ad to about 20 million people who had tuned in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Houston Texans.
Sixty seconds is a considerable amount of time when it comes to the NFL, and those ads aren't easy on the pocketbook. Tracking firm Advertising Analytics suggests those pre-bookings add up to a whopping $25 million.
Link said he had never seen that before in a presidential race, noting that it is the first time they have seen something of that magnitude. Link isn't sure if the Trump campaign will be able to match that, but it is expecting to shell out a lot of money on ads during football games this fall.
Biden campaign's ad was included in the NBC broadcast feed and was shown on every TV that tuned in nationwide, but the Trump campaign has purchased $1.1 million in ads in 21 local TV markets in swing states, Ad Analytics said. This could allow Trump's team to adjust its messages based on the issues important to each state and region.