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Opinion: Florida TV execs must love Mitt Romney

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The Nielsen Co. today released statistics on television advertising in Florida, figures that will loom as particularly telling if Mitt Romney wins Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary in the state.

The report spotlights the extent of the media campaign Romney has run in Florida. From March of last year through the first part of last week, TV spots for the former Massachusetts governor totaled 4,475.

The comparable number for John McCain: 470.

All of McCain’s ads have been broadcast this month. Romney’s total for the month: 1,392.

Romney had the advantage last year of being flush with cash, while McCain’s campaign at times was virtually tapped out. And even as McCain’s financial situation has improved, Romney ...

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has maintained a big edge over him, in part by funneling an unknown (but presumably hefty) amount of his personal fortune into his campaign coffers.

Rudy Giuliani, despite long ago keying in on Florida as the cornerstone of his White House bid, was dark in the state until December, when his campaign aired 189 spots. But he flooded the market in the first 22 days of this month, with 2,878 ads.

If the primary results parallel the latest polls and he finishes a weak third (or worse) in the vote, an old Madison Avenue saw will be confirmed: An aggressive, well-done ad campaign can quicken a current’s pace, but it can’t reverse its course.

-- Don Frederick

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