Published: November 5, 1998
Section: NEWS
Page#: 20A

This candidate knew how to market himself

By Patricia Lopez Baden; Staff Writer

When the pundits and political historians mull over Gov.-elect Jesse Ventura's history-making win, they almost certainly will cast a keen eye at his daring, irreverent ad campaign.

It started with a single radio ad in which Ventura laid out his issues, including his belief that Led Zeppelin was one of the greatest rock bands ever.

Then came the Jesse campaign song. Backed by a funky "Shaft"-like beat, Ventura growled the lyrics of a song that told of his Navy SEAL experience - "You're makin' me blush" - his refusal to take special-interest money - "I don't play that game" - and his private-sector background - "I'm no career politician."

The string of ads that followed elicited dismissive reactions from the campaigns of DFLer Hubert Humphrey III and Republican Norm Coleman. "They're cute, in a weird sort of way," sniffed Coleman's spokeswoman, Cyndy Brucato.

Critics said the maverick Reform Party candidate needed "serious" ads, heavy on positions and details, that would put him in the same league as his opponents.

But the creative spirit behind the campaign, Minneapolis ad man Bill Hillsman, said no. And Ventura listened.

"He's so refreshing," said Hillsman, who last rocked the world of political advertising in 1990, when his unconventional ads helped catapult an unknown college professor, Paul Wellstone, into the U.S. Senate. "Jesse's worked in movies, he's been a pro wrestler, he understands pop culture. He gets it. He knows what's going to play in public, and he's not afraid to take chances."

When Hillsman presented story boards on commercials that would feature a Jesse Ventura Action Figure, "he took about two seconds, said 'we're doing that. What else have you got?' It was the fastest decision I've ever seen a politician make. No 17 layers of handlers telling him, 'It's too risky, let's test it.' Just boom. Go do it."

Ventura's TV ads didn't run until the last week of the campaign because it took that long for his shoestring campaign to secure a $300,000 loan against state campaign funding, which he would receive after the election, and only if he won at least 5 percent of the vote.

But when the ads did start, they created a buzz that swept through Minnesota and stood out from the clutter of generic political ads like, well, like Ventura at a political debate.

At 6 feet 4, 250 pounds, the ex-pro wrestler and movie actor would have seemed a natural to star in his own ads. When the ads featured the Ventura doll instead, pundits again predicted dire results, saying the campaign was wasting its best asset and would turn off voters.

But the Ventura doll proved enormously popular, and some Minnesotans now are clamoring for them.

In one memorable ad, two telegenic tykes make the Ventura doll battle Evil Special Interest Man, who holds out a dime as the Ventura doll says, "I don't want your stupid money."

People either loved or hated the ad. But the publicity it generated, Hillsman said, was priceless. "People talked about it. They remembered it. And that's the whole point," he said.

The last TV ad may have been the boldest of all. It featured Ventura - known as Jesse "The Body" in his pro wrestling days - assuming the position of Rodin's "The Thinker," clad only in a pair of shorts. A voiceover ticked off Ventura's virtues, ending with a pitch to vote for Jesse "The Mind." Ventura then looks up at the camera, grins and winks.

The ads worked, Hillsman contends, because each one carried a simple, sincere message about Ventura's beliefs and accomplishments. "We just tried a fresher approach," he said. Print ads just before the election used a similar approach, but offered more substance about his positions.

Hillsman also took an unconventional approach to buying ad time. Instead of favoring the news, as did Coleman and Humphrey, Hillsman bought heavily on the Fox channel, as part of the campaign's appeal to young voters.

Hillsman said he would like to see more campaigns use humor, pathos, ingenuity - anything but the formulaic, numbing and often darkly negative ads that he says most candidates air.