Mike Bloomberg for Mayor

Political Context

In 2001, New Yorkers’ impression of the DNA of a businessman was that of a cut-throat, excessively bottom line-driven executive – a Donald Trump. We had the challenge of convincing New York City voters that billionaire Mike Bloomberg was different, that he understood them – and that at his roots he was one of them and was committed to making NYC a better place for everyone. This was not necessarily an easy task. Today, with Wall Street excesses stoking populist fervor, understanding the challenges of running for office as a businessman is even more important.

Strategy

How did we do it for Mike Bloomberg? We decided a crucial component was telling voters Mike’s life story and illustrating the values in his life that motivated him. We presented this in a :60 opening ad called “My Life”. We understood the vulnerabilities of the negative portrait our opponent would paint, and began inoculating ourselves with this ad and subsequent ads. In an ad called “Public Colors” we showed that Mike Bloomberg’s charitable work wasn’t just about writing checks, it was about his hands-on commitment to making life better for all New Yorkers.

Outcome

Despite running in a very heavily Democratic city, Mike Bloomberg, running as a Republican, came from behind and won decisively against the heavily favored Democratic establishment candidate.

Epilogue

The 2005 mayoral race was all about New York City coming back from the events of September 11th. Our opening ad called “Moving Forward” was about this story arch. We also continued to show that Mayor Bloomberg was in touch with and responsive to the concerns of real people, as highlighted in the ad “Ellenson.”

When Mayor Bloomberg ran for an unprecedented third term in 2009, we faced a much different challenge: a poor economy and anti-incumbent fervor. Our solution was to give a rationale for Mayor Bloomberg’s third term and highlight his plans to move NYC forward, while contrasting this with our opponent who was a career politician. We highlighted this contrast in our ad called “New York Minute.”