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Ed.
The "Hugh Jidette for President"
campaign is one of the more creative efforts to inject an issue into
the 2012 presidential campaign. Using the satirical presidential
candidate Hugh Jidette as part of a larger OweNo
campaign, the
Peter G. Peterson Foundation is seeking "to engage Americans in a
movement to address the nation’s
long-term fiscal challenges." The campaign launched days after
the
2010 mid-term elections when attention of political observers started
to turn to 2012. It includes a very professional looking website,
including a number of "campaign commercials," as well as active
Facebook
and Twitter accounts.
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PRESS RELEASE from Peter G. Peterson Foundation
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PRESS RELEASE |
Contacts: Alissa
Hinkson, 202-470-5340 alissahinkson@rational360.com Kara Alaimo, 212-542-9265 kalaimo@pgpf.org |
Peter G. Peterson Foundation Launches $6 Million National
Public Engagement and Advertising Campaign to Address America’s
Long-Term Fiscal Challenges
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, Senator Evan Bayh and Senator Pete V. Domenici Join PGPF Chairman Peter G. Peterson and Vice Chairman Michael A. Peterson to Unveil Foundation’s Multimedia Campaign
NEW YORK (NOVEMBER 9, 2010) —The Peter G. Peterson Foundation (PGPF) today launched “OweNo,” a nationwide engagement and advertising campaign to engage Americans in a movement to address the nation’s long-term fiscal challenges. PGPF Chairman Peter G. Peterson and Vice Chairman Michael A. Peterson were joined at the national launch at the Washington, D.C. Newseum by U.S. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND), Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), and former Senator Pete V. Domenici (R-New Mexico), Bipartisan Policy Center Senior Fellow and Co-Chair of the Debt Reduction Task Force.
The Campaign is being launched in the days following a heated mid-term election, in which exit polls showed that voters’ number one priority for the next Congress is to reduce the deficit. The Campaign is also launching just weeks prior to the December 1 delivery of recommendations by the National Commission for Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. PGPF has dedicated $6 million to create and launch the first phase of this national public engagement campaign, which will work to build a movement among concerned citizens of all political persuasions on the need to develop a sensible plan for our fiscal future.
“The unsustainable outlook for our long-term national debt and deficits threatens our nation’s economic health and stands to impact the lives of every American, particularly our nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Foundation Chairman Peter G. Peterson. “Public focus on our nation’s fiscal challenges has never been more intense. At this moment, there is a unique window of opportunity for action on this critical issue. Exit polling from the recent election shows that reducing the deficit is voters’ top priority for Congress, ahead of both spending to create jobs and cutting taxes. The OweNo campaign aims to bring Americans together into a constructive bipartisan movement for a sensible plan.
At the event, Pete and Michael Peterson outlined the public
engagement campaign and unveiled an advance screening of the campaign
television commercials that will begin running nationally and in select
cities. The advertisements can be viewed online at www.OweNo.com.
The OweNo Advertising Campaign: Featuring “Hugh Jidette” for President
The creative focal point of the advertising campaign is “Hugh Jidette,” a satirical character who delivers a serious message about our fiscal problems. Hugh Jidette – a play on the phrase “Huge Debt” – is a fictional 2012 presidential candidate who has been created to bring to light the facts about our federal fiscal challenges and the threats they pose to our nation’s economic future. Hugh Jidette’s presidential platform may sound strange and unbelievable, but all of the facts and figures that he cites are entirely true and reflect official government data and projections about America’s actual fiscal situation. He and his absurd platform ironically represent the sad truth about the “status quo” and our nation’s actual current fiscal path.
“Through this humorous advertising campaign that drives home a serious message, we hope to engage millions of Americans to find and implement solutions to our fiscal challenges,” said Foundation Vice Chairman Michael A. Peterson. “This unique take on a presidential campaign aims to underscore the urgency of addressing the fiscal challenges we face and the need for a real plan. Only by engaging the public will elected officials have the support they need to implement a bipartisan set of solutions to our challenges.”
Elements of the OweNo National TV and Online Public Engagement Campaign
The OweNo national television advertising will run on the national broadcast Sunday Shows, including NBC’s “Meet the Press,” ABC’s “This Week,” CBS’s “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday,” as well as CNN’s “State of the Union.”
OweNo campaign advertising will include a national cable buy that will run on such outlets as CNN, MSNBC, and FOX, and online advertising on websites such as NYTimes.com, CNN.com, Politico, Huffington Post, FoxNews.com, YuMe.com, and Yahoo.
The multimedia campaign will include television commercials, online advertising, and social media tools that will encourage the public to visit the OweNo campaign website, www.OweNo.com, to sign the OweNo Declaration, learn more about our fiscal challenges, and find out what they can do to help address them. The site links to the PGPF website, www.pgpf.org, which describes a range of policy solutions from across the political spectrum.
By signing the OweNo Declaration, Americans can join together to commit to create a movement that calls on both political parties to adopt a responsible, balanced, compassionate plan to address our fiscal challenges.
OweNo Public Engagement and Advertising Campaign Launches in Columbus, Ohio and Denver, Colorado
The initial phase of the OweNo campaign also includes a significant focus on the bellwether cities of Columbus, Ohio and Denver, Colorado. Later this week, Michael Peterson will join local leaders in Columbus and Denver to announce the campaign and to encourage citizens of Ohio and Colorado to get involved.
The OweNo campaign is one of several awareness and consensus-building projects spearheaded by the Foundation. PGPF seeks innovative means to spotlight the serious fiscal challenges confronting the nation. These efforts include support for the creation of the National Commission for Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and the convening of policy and thought leaders from across the political spectrum at a Fiscal Summit the Foundation organized earlier this year. PGPF also works to raise awareness and inspire citizens across the nation to engage on the development of solutions to the growing fiscal challenges that threaten the long-term future of our nation, through initiatives such as the critically acclaimed film “I.O.U.S.A.”, the “Indebted” campaign in conjunction with MTV, a grant to Columbia University to create a national curriculum on fiscal issues, and a “Fiscal Wake Up Tour” with The Concord Coalition. Additionally, the Foundation engages in policy research in areas such as healthcare payment and delivery reform.
Today’s PGPF National Press Conference at the Newseum will be streamed live, and will later be available at www.OweNo.com/launch
About PGPF
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established by Pete Peterson – businessman, philanthropist, and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The Foundation is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the nature and urgency of key fiscal challenges threatening America’s future and to accelerating action on them. To address these challenges successfully, we work to bring Americans together to find and implement sensible, long-term solutions that transcend age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results. The OweNo campaign is one of several awareness and consensus-building projects spearheaded by the Foundation. To learn more about the Peterson Foundation, please visit www.PGPF.org.