Cutler launches first television ad campaign

One day after receiving the endorsement of fellow independent and U.S. Sen. Angus King, Eliot Cutler has gone live with his first TV advertisement.

The ad, titled “Jobs & the Economy,” focuses on Cutler’s business pedigree by highlighting Maine Seafood Ventures, a Portland-based company Cutler and four partners founded after the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, according to a news release from Cutler.

The company has sold five million pounds of lobster to China in the past two years, Cutler said.

The ad is a pretty savvy attempt for Cutler to turn his experience in international business into a positive. In 2010, critics chastised Cutler for spending so much of his professional career focused on business in China.

Yesterday, King spoke on the subject in Portland, joking that rather than criticizing Cutler for his overseas experience, Mainers should embrace his experience as Maine seeks to open up overseas markets for Maine products. (Gov. Paul LePage, Cutler’s Republican opponent, has also prioritized international trade during his tenure.)

Cutler’s campaign has purchased airtime at TV stations throughout the state, according to the FCC, and the ad will run through August 25.

Crystal Canney, Cutler’s spokeswoman, said the ad is just the first in a series the Cutler will air between now and Election Day.

“This ad talks about Eliot’s experience and how that directly relates to jobs and the economy,” Canney said. “It will stay up until we decide to put our next ad up talking about why it’s important to elect a competent Governor – you have to show up with a plan to help Maine grow its economy.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud first hit the airwaves earlier this month. LePage’s campaign has yet to air its first ad, but the Republican Governors Association began airing an ad on his behalf last week.

 

 

Mario Moretto

About Mario Moretto

Mario Moretto has been a Maine journalist, in print and online publications, since 2009. He joined the Bangor Daily News in 2012, first as a general assignment reporter in his native Hancock County and, now, in the State House. Mario left the BDN in 2015.