National Commercial Week: THIS IS GOING TO BE HUGE

[skiingff]

In the past day, 4 Meetup groups have already signed up for National Commercial week: groups in Maryland, Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois.

Please urge your group leader to sign up for National Commercial Week. The goal is to get at least 100 Meetup groups to sign up, including at least 1 Meetup group in each state. The goal is to launch a massive, unprecedented nationwide grassroots media campaign for Dr. Paul.

Over $1,000 is being invested to send a press release to 95+% of the media outlets in the nation about National Commercial Week. A total of three press releases will be distributed: one on Monday, a reminder notice two weeks before National Commercial Week, then another press release after National Commercial Week is over with to explain how successful it was. These press releases are being distributed by a professional nationwide PR firm. This is not "hey, let's call up the local news reporter on ABC 7 and FOX 13. " This is being done in the same manner that big corporations, presidential campaigns, etc do it. That means, local newspapers, TV and radio stations, magazines, Internet news sites, and other media outlets across the nation will get this press release. Over 95% of them.

Here is a copy of the e-mail that is being sent out to every Meetup group about National Commercial Week. 350 Meetup groups were contacted yesterday and today. 250 more to go.


October 8 - October 15 will be National Commercial Week. During this time, Ron Paul TV commercials will air on TVs across the nation.

Your Meetup group is invited to participate in making this week a success for Ron Paul. The only requirement is that your Meetup group raise the required funds (a minimum of $1000) and purchase airtime in your local TV market. Your group can buy airtime on any channel(s) you want, for any amount you want, to air at the times of your choice. Instructions for creating and purchasing an airtime schedule are listed at http://www.operationnh.com/schedules.html.

After you purchase your airtime schedule, your Meetup group will have two Ron Paul TV commercials to choose from, one of which can be viewed at:
http://www.spotrunner.com/Ads/Host/Play.aspx?cde=A1PK
The other commercial is currently being produced and will be available for preview at the end of next week. Don't worry about choosing which commercial you want - focus on purchasing the airtime. You'll have until 10 days before the ad airs, Sept. 29, to decide which commercial to use.

The sponsor for National Commercial Week, Americans United for Freedom (UnitedForFreedom.US), will be paying BIG money to send out a press release to nearly every media outlet in the country, including 95+% of the TV, newspaper, and radio media outlets nationwide to inform them of National Commercial Week. What does this mean for Ron Paul? Not only will hundreds of thousands of Americans see his commercial on TV, but they will read about our grassroots effort in newspapers and hear about it on the evening news across the nation. That's double the publicity for Ron Paul - for free. We would like to inform every single American that the power of the Ron Paul grassroots is limitless. We want to let the country know that Paul DOES have significant support and a significant base, and is a serious contender for President. We want to inform America of what Ron Paul stands for (and allow America to research him on their own on the Internet), because the mainsteam media REFUSES to give him the airtime he deserves.

If your Meetup group would like to participate in National Commercial Week, send your RSVP to info@operationnh.com and include your Meetup name/number, your name and contact info, and which TV market you plan to purchase airtime for (eg your hometown, a neighboring town, an early primary state, etc). You will then be sent further instructions on how to successfully fundraise and purchase airtime so you can help get Ron Paul ads on TV nationwide during National Commercial Week.

Deadlines and Important Notes:
** You need to RSVP and purchase your airtime schedule by Monday, September 24 (two weeks prior to the October 8 airing). It is the ad agency's requirement that airtime schedules be purchased at least 2 weeks prior to airing. Although you can RSVP anytime up to the airtime purchase deadline of Sept. 24, we strongly recommend that you RSVP as soon as possible, so you can have ample time to fundraise and we can have ample time to gauge the support for National Commercial Week. We want to be able to tell the media this is going to be BIG.
** It's up to you and your Meetup group to fundraise, create an airtime schedule, and purchase the airtime schedule before Sept. 24. Don't worry about which TV commercial you'll be using, this can be decided up to 10 days before the ad is set to air (up to Sept. 29). We can help you, and we can tell you HOW to do everything, but we can't force you to do it. This project is self-administrated.
** You can purchase airtime for your locality OR any place in the U.S. An airtime purchase for Iowa or New Hampshire (early primary states), for example, may be more important to you than an airtime purchase for your locality. It's completely up to you and your Meetup group. Also, we advise you to strongly consider late afternoon/early evening/primetime for time slots because although these times are more expensive per commercial, they are far less expensive in cost per 1,000 views.

This can all be summarized in a short paragraph. If you want to participate in National Commercial Week, send an RSVP to info@operationnh.com saying so. Then raise at least $1000. Follow the steps to create your own airtime schedule (operationnh.com/schedules.html), and then purchase your schedule. That's it! Immediately inform us of the schedule you have purchased and the ad you'd like to use (we have until 10 days before it airs to decide on the ad, so don't worry about that). Then, sit back and enjoy all the TV airtime and free press we obtain for Ron Paul. The goal is after National Commercial Week is over with, "Ron who!?!?!?" will be a phrase of the past.

Sincerely,
Brandon Lloyd
Operation New Hampshire
http://www.operationnh.com
info@operationnh.com
(304) 237-5349

All that is being asked is that each Meetup group make their best effort to raise the $1000 to fund the airtime. Join forces with another Meetup group. Sell some baked goods at the county fair. Ask each member to donate $10. ESPECIALLY in groups of 100 members, if each member donates a lousy $10, that's $1,000 right there. Tell them to eat at home tomorrow. If a Meetup group tries its very best to raise the funds but just can't quite make it, there will be a "scholarship fund" available as a last resort that will give out grants to needy groups of up to $200. Or the Meetup group can ask another Meetup group for help. If there's a will, there's a way.

Let's make National Commercial Week a success for Ron Paul.

[goldenequity]

Thanks for ALL your hard work ......
that's what it takes.... and I believe it will get easier
and more productive/effecient after this first week....
hat tip to you.... persistence prevails!!!!

[LibertyEagle]

But you REALLY need to get that ad switched out on your web site to the current one. It is going to confuse people that go over there and look and will likely lose you a lot of participants and donors.

[skiingff]

Thanks for ALL your hard work ......
that's what it takes.... and I believe it will get easier
and more productive/effecient after this first week....
hat tip to you.... persistence prevails!!!!

After National Commercial Week, there won't be anyone in this country that says, "Ron who!?!?"

That is the goal. This will the biggest grassroots media campaign in the HISTORY of the U.S. if 100+ Meetups participate -- no doubt.

It will shake things up bigtime in Washington. Everyone will be running scared. The media will thing they're being taken over.

It's TIME to shake things up a bit.

[LibertyEagle]

You are absolutely amazing for doing this, skiingff. Seriously.

[The Good Doctor]

Just curious since I don't know but how much does air time cost on a local TV affiliate?

Also, I take it there is no limit to the number of times that a meetup group can get a commerical aired?

And does the Ron Paul campaign support this? Is it sponsored by them?

[skiingff]

Just curious since I don't know but how much does air time cost on a local TV affiliate?
A minimum of $1,000 for a cable TV campaign (CNN, Fox News, Comedy Central, MTV, History Channel, Spike TV, whatever). I'd say at LEAST 2x-5x that for a broadcast (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) campaign, however the official minimum is still $1000. You can fiddle around with schedules and crunch some numbers here:
http://www.spotrunner.com/Schedules/Audience.aspx


Also, I take it there is no limit to the number of times that a meetup group can get a commerical aired?
No limit whatsoever. What we're trying to do is get the entire nation to launch TV ads for one week straight in a show of solidarity.


And does the Ron Paul campaign support this? Is it sponsored by them?
This is a project of Americans United for Freedom, a spinoff of Lord Xar's AUL PAC. It is a project of the grassroots -- we ARE the campaign. P.S. it's illegal for a PAC to coordinate with a campaign, but the campaign IS *somehow* aware of our efforts and I have talked to officials in the campaign about *unrelated matters*.

[Scribbler de Stebbing]

Question about the ad in the link: what do all those pictures of libraries and classrooms have to do with Ron Paul?

[Lord Xar]

A minimum of $1,000 for a cable TV campaign (CNN, Fox News, Comedy Central, MTV, History Channel, Spike TV, whatever). I'd say at LEAST 2x-5x that for a broadcast (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) campaign, however the official minimum is still $1000. You can fiddle around with schedules and crunch some numbers here:
http://www.spotrunner.com/Schedules/Audience.aspx


No limit whatsoever. What we're trying to do is get the entire nation to launch TV ads for one week straight in a show of solidarity.


This is a project of Americans United for Freedom, a spinoff of Lord Xar's AUL PAC. It is a project of the grassroots -- we ARE the campaign.

The one or two T.V. Ads I am working on should be done by this time too, so perhaps we can coordinate on 'total' commercials available to pick from... instead of 2 or 3, perhaps 4 or 5.

[skiingff]

The one or two T.V. Ads I am working on should be done by this time too, so perhaps we can coordinate on 'total' commercials available to pick from... instead of 2 or 3, perhaps 4 or 5.


Great!!!

Check your private messages I'm about to send one your way.

This is fantastic news... we can make this HUGE.

[deedles]

Okay, let me get this straight. To purchase the commercial it's 1,000.00. Then we need to get funds to buy airtime? Or is it that you're asking each meetup to buy approx. 1,000.00 worth of airtime and the commercial is free if you get 1,000.00 worth of airtime paid for?

I'm a little hazy on this point...

[skiingff]

Okay, let me get this straight. To purchase the commercial it's 1,000.00. Then we need to get funds to buy airtime? Or is it that you're asking each meetup to buy approx. 1,000.00 worth of airtime and the commercial is free if you get 1,000.00 worth of airtime paid for?

I'm a little hazy on this point...

All commercials will be provided free of charge. All you need to do is buy the actual airtime to get them on TV.

[Nathan Hale]

Question about the ad in the link: what do all those pictures of libraries and classrooms have to do with Ron Paul?

Nothing. But that's irrelevant. The ad is not misleading in any way and will serve to drive traffic to Ron's site and expand public knowledge of the Paul campaign - IMHO that makes it a winner. The images look like stock footage of wholesome things mixed with a cheesy track and some heavily-vetted narration. It's not ideal, but I'll take it over 30 seconds of some dude in a V for Vendetta mask talking into his web cam any day.

[skiingff]

Nothing. But that's irrelevant. The ad is not misleading in any way and will serve to drive traffic to Ron's site and expand public knowledge of the Paul campaign - IMHO that makes it a winner. The images look like stock footage of wholesome things mixed with a cheesy track and some heavily-vetted narration. It's not ideal, but I'll take it over 30 seconds of some dude in a V for Vendetta mask talking into his web cam any day.

Finally, someone that sees the big picture here... thank you.

Instead of focusing on this minute detail and that minute detail, let's focus on getting these commercials on TV, getting name and issue recognition for Paul, driving people to his website, and garnering more support. There will be at least 2-4 commercials to choose from. But that isn't the point... it's the STIR we will cause.

EDIT: Remember, the media doesn't WANT us to get on TV. We need to stick it to em, and stick it to em bigtime.

[MsDoodahs]

Skiing, I can't seem to locate the pledge.

Can you direct me to the place to go to send you the money I promised?

Thank you!

MsD

[FluffyUnbound]

Have you thought about encouraging Meetup group combination? Some small-state groups are too small to put together that kind of cash themselves, but if they pooled with other group[s] it might seem more attainable to them.

[skiingff]

Have you thought about encouraging Meetup group combination? Some small-state groups are too small to put together that kind of cash themselves, but if they pooled with other group[s] it might seem more attainable to them.

Excellent point. Like I said, Meetup combination is fine. Op NH will also be giving out grants of up to $200 for Meetup groups that can't quite raise enough, but have tried their very best. Between the $200 grants, Meetup combination, etc, there should be no reason for cash shortfalls.

Have a group yardsale.

Sell baked goods at the local county fair.

Seek funding from other sources.

Like I said -- if there's a will, there's a way. Op NH will try to help the Meetup groups out as much as possible...

[EvoPro]

This is an amazing idea and effort skiingff. Thank you.

[Hook]

So for those of us that aren't in a meetup, is there a donation page so that we can give you some $ to send to meetups in need?

[EvoPro]

nevermind, stupid question...

[Michael Ingram]

bump

[Juliet*]

The one or two T.V. Ads I am working on should be done by this time too, so perhaps we can coordinate on 'total' commercials available to pick from... instead of 2 or 3, perhaps 4 or 5.
What a terrific job you are doing! Just discovered this. :)

I just recorded a very up-beat, catchy pop song with great quotes on Freedom in its break/beats section! I would love to give it to you for use in the new Ron Paul commercial! It might add just the right pizzaz... Please take a quick listen. Let me know what you think! http://www.MySpace.com/JazKitten

Thanks! I hope this helps ~

Yours In Freedom,
Juliet*

ps: Of course I'm willing to make edits if necessary to fit the video.:rolleyes:

[Spirit of '76]

Man, this is big. Great stuff...

[Spirit of '76]

It's not ideal, but I'll take it over 30 seconds of some dude in a V for Vendetta mask talking into his web cam any day.

lol

[fj45lvr]

someone needs a commercial highlighting the ridiculous amount of GOV. we are burdened with today....numbers and dollar amounts.

PULL THE PLUG ON BIG GOV.

ron Paul is the only candidate with a firm grip on the cord. Help him shut down the MACHINE....our forefathers gave their lives, fortunes and sacred honor for LIBERTY how about you what are you willing to give to see Liberty resusitated?

Vote Paul in the Republican Primary and stop dreaming.

[LibertyEagle]

What a terrific job you are doing! Just discovered this. :)

I just recorded a very up-beat, catchy pop song with great quotes on Freedom in its break/beats section! I would love to give it to you for use in the new Ron Paul commercial! It might add just the right pizzaz... Please take a quick listen. Let me know what you think! http://www.MySpace.com/JazKitten

Thanks! I hope this helps ~

Yours In Freedom,
Juliet*

ps: Of course I'm willing to make edits if necessary to fit the video.:rolleyes:

Wow, Juliet! I'm impressed. That is great.

[dmitchell]

I would like to see an ad modeled on Eisenhower's 1956 campaign spot. Watch it here (http://www.archive.org/details/Eisenhow1956), but skip ahead to the 13:10 mark. The basic idea is that Eisenhower can keep the country out of war, but the other guy will send your boys to war.

[LibertyEagle]

bump

[Lord Xar]

What a terrific job you are doing! Just discovered this. :)

I just recorded a very up-beat, catchy pop song with great quotes on Freedom in its break/beats section! I would love to give it to you for use in the new Ron Paul commercial! It might add just the right pizzaz... Please take a quick listen. Let me know what you think! http://www.MySpace.com/JazKitten

Thanks! I hope this helps ~

Yours In Freedom,
Juliet*

ps: Of course I'm willing to make edits if necessary to fit the video.:rolleyes:

I love your voice... "if" that song wouldn't work with the content I was doing BUT I would love to put your voice ON IT regardless.. can you do something custom?

contact me.

IF SO, email me here: ronpaul4america (AT) gmail (DOT) com

[skiingff]

Louisiana is Ron Paul country!!!!

The Covington, Louisiana Meetup group has already raised their $1,000 and is ready to purchase their airtime!!!

The North Louisiana Meetup group has also signed up for national commercial week!!!

And these two Meetup groups have nothing to do with eachother... they are on opposite ends of the state!

Way to go Louisiana!!!

[deedles]

I have a couple questions as posed by members of my meetup...

Can anyone purchase commercial time or do we have to organize as a PAC?

What about McCain/Feingold, that unconstitutional POS? 30 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election, ads are prohibited. (What baloney)

Please see the link below about FEC regulations regarding individuals and groups.

Apparently the 1000.00 minimum is enough to trigger a paperwork, filing with FEC requirement.


http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/citizens.shtml#ie

Just throwing this out there in hopes that someone has addressed this already and has some better answers.

I'm trying to get my meetup organized to do this, but they are reluctant for the above reasons.

Thanks

[CasualApathy]

Amazing initiative!

Any way I can help?

[Michael Ingram]

bump

[LibertyEagle]

Skiing, I can't seem to locate the pledge.

Can you direct me to the place to go to send you the money I promised?

Thank you!

MsD

Op NH: http://www.operationnh.com (upper right hand corner)

[LibertyEagle]

Amazing initiative!

Any way I can help?

Donate.
Op NH: http://www.operationnh.com (upper right hand corner)

[Slugg]

Just out of curiosity. How many cities do you think are going to get hit with this?

[EvoPro]

Can anyone purchase commercial time or do we have to organize as a PAC?



There is a PAC, Americans United For Freedom.

[Nathan Hale]

Louisiana is Ron Paul country!!!!

The Covington, Louisiana Meetup group has already raised their $1,000 and is ready to purchase their airtime!!!

The North Louisiana Meetup group has also signed up for national commercial week!!!

And these two Meetup groups have nothing to do with eachother... they are on opposite ends of the state!

Way to go Louisiana!!!

I'd rather see the Louisiana group purchase airtime for the Paul ad to run in New Hampshire or Iowa. Remember, Paul needs to get name recognition in those states moreso than in Louisiana.

[EvoPro]

Nathan, no one is stopping you from contributing to the New Hampshire/Iowa fund. There is no reason we can't do both. I happen to think national awareness is very important.

National awareness really translates to higher local awareness, including in New Hampshire and Iowa.

[EvoPro]

I didn't mean to be so rude to you there Nathan, but if you think about it: The more they talk about Ron Paul in the media(new paper, tv, radio) accross the country, the more they will talk about him in Iowa/NH media (and with greater credibility).

[cac1963]

There is a PAC, Americans United For Freedom.
So we are to donate our funds to this AUFF PAC and the PAC will purchase the airtime across the nation?

If we ourselves walk into our TV station offices and plop down the bucks, do we sign the paperwork closing the deal as representatives of this PAC?

I don't think that's how it works, so somebody needs to clarify/advise how each meetup raising over $1000 will handle the FEC paperwork for their efforts.

[Hook]

I say each of us break the law by buying $1000.00 worth of advertising. Then when we get prosecuted for it, the sheer obviousness of violating the free speech of ordinary citizens will cause all kinds of press coverage. It will then allow us to take it to the Supreme Court and have the law struck down once and for all.

[cac1963]

I say each of us break the law by buying $1000.00 worth of advertising. Then when we get prosecuted for it, the sheer obviousness of violating the free speech of ordinary citizens will cause all kinds of press coverage. It will then allow us to take it to the Supreme Court and have the law struck down once and for all.

Just what Paul needs, a massive media blitz highlighting his hooligan base who show absolutely no respect for the rule of law. As a man running largely on the rule of law premise, it does NOT serve him well to advertise the fact that none of his followers agree.

[Lord Xar]

So we are to donate our funds to this AUFF PAC and the PAC will purchase the airtime across the nation?

If we ourselves walk into our TV station offices and plop down the bucks, do we sign the paperwork closing the deal as representatives of this PAC?

I don't think that's how it works, so somebody needs to clarify/advise how each meetup raising over $1000 will handle the FEC paperwork for their efforts.

I have my own pac -- americans united for liberty.... now, what I do and what I believe skiingf will do is - COLLECT the monies on behalf of the meetups... these meetups will write a check - or take multiple checks... these checks are written to the PAC. As long as nobody donates more than 5k individually to a single PAC, its good.

So, lets say marry and bob each donate 500 (they still can donate 4500 to "that" PAC) - with a check or paypal (In which a paper trail can be followed) - they make out their monies to "the pac" -- that PAC then will secure the airtime on BEHALF of the persons.

That is how i would do it --

[Michael Ingram]

Just what Paul needs, a massive media blitz highlighting his hooligan base who show absolutely no respect for the rule of law. As a man running largely on the rule of law premise, it does NOT serve him well to advertise the fact that none of his followers agree.

I would say that Ron Paul is running on the basis of the constitution, if a law is unconstitutional, then it should be abolished.

[LibertyEagle]

I say each of us break the law by buying $1000.00 worth of advertising. Then when we get prosecuted for it, the sheer obviousness of violating the free speech of ordinary citizens will cause all kinds of press coverage. It will then allow us to take it to the Supreme Court and have the law struck down once and for all.

That is STUPID, Hook.

[cac1963]

I have my own pac -- americans united for liberty.... now, what I do and what I believe skiingf will do is - COLLECT the monies on behalf of the meetups... these meetups will write a check - or take multiple checks... these checks are written to the PAC. As long as nobody donates more than 5k individually to a single PAC, its good.

So, lets say marry and bob each donate 500 (they still can donate 4500 to "that" PAC) - with a check or paypal (In which a paper trail can be followed) - they make out their monies to "the pac" -- that PAC then will secure the airtime on BEHALF of the persons.

That is how i would do it --

Then skiingf needs to state very clearly his intentions to form a PAC for this purpose and advise all participants how to donate, and delegate specifically who is responsible for securing the media buy in each market (a local individual or someone from his PAC office). I did not interpret the original plan this way, it comes across more cavalier in its approach to get local meetups to raise their own money and buy their own media time without any money leaving the area into a national PAC, and without being under the guidance of a single PAC, or without even forming their own local PACs.

So we need some clarity on the actual route the money should take, and the name(s) that need to be attached to the money.

[LibertyEagle]

Just what Paul needs, a massive media blitz highlighting his hooligan base who show absolutely no respect for the rule of law. As a man running largely on the rule of law premise, it does NOT serve him well to advertise the fact that none of his followers agree.

That is ONE person. You can't logically blow that up into saying we all agree with him.

We're going about this legally. That is why the PACs were formed.

[cac1963]

I would say that Ron Paul is running on the basis of the constitution, if a law is unconstitutional, then it should be abolished.

I don't disagree in principle, but Paul is following the currently established rules, whether he agrees with them or not. In his honor, I think it wise we do the same, and then fight to overturn the unconstitutional ones when we have the Justice Department primed to support the effort.

Hook suggested we all throw ourselves at the wolves by intentionally violating the current rules so that the media attention will sway public opinion against those rules. Sounds like a plan, huh? How long will this whole process take? The primaries are in three months, think we can succeed in that amount of time?

Given how politicized the current Justice Dept is, what are the odds these investigations will be launched prior to the primaries? If they sit on them until after Paul has lost in the primaries, then what recourse do you have to get your message out to potential Paul supporters?

It's a stupid idea.

[Man from La Mancha]

I love the commercial idea and I will contact my local group.


What a terrific job you are doing! Just discovered this. :)

I just recorded a very up-beat, catchy pop song with great quotes on Freedom in its break/beats section! I would love to give it to you for use in the new Ron Paul commercial! It might add just the right pizzaz... Please take a quick listen. Let me know what you think! http://www.MySpace.com/JazKitten

Thanks! I hope this helps ~

Yours In Freedom,
Juliet*

ps: Of course I'm willing to make edits if necessary to fit the video.:rolleyes:Nice freedom song , I hope someone can use it. How about you Juliet make a Ron Paul girl video?

Guns don't kill people...

http://a449.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/12/l_dee9c4d197341aff600c42a328212348.jpg...in fact they can be quite cuddly!

[cac1963]

That is ONE person. You can't logically blow that up into saying we all agree with him.

We're going about this legally. That is why the PACs were formed.

WHAT PACs? Lord's got a PAC, but I don't see it offered up as the umbrella PAC for this effort. Skiingf didn't say he had a PAC for this effort. So WHAT PACs are you talking about?

[Michael Ingram]

Political Action Committee, I think

[walt]

you don't need to spend $1000 to send out an effective press release. IM me.

[FluffyUnbound]

WHAT PACs? Lord's got a PAC, but I don't see it offered up as the umbrella PAC for this effort. Skiingf didn't say he had a PAC for this effort. So WHAT PACs are you talking about?

You might want to go to the link in the OP and read the whole site. I think that will clarify some things for you.

It appears that OperationNH is a PAC, and when you buy airtime it will be considered an in-kind contribution to the PAC, who will then have to handle the FEC reporting.

[phixonpolitics]

This is quite an interesting idea, and the planning and forethought it takes to make it lawful by current laws is encouraging.

I must agree, Juliet's voice is wonderful (the range she has is too).
Wow at all the different talents that willingly work together to produce high quality media.

I'm sorry I don't have those kinds of talent, myself.

[LibertyEagle]

WHAT PACs? Lord's got a PAC, but I don't see it offered up as the umbrella PAC for this effort. Skiingf didn't say he had a PAC for this effort. So WHAT PACs are you talking about?

Skiingff has said he is forming a PAC in another thread. I think it is called, Americans United for Freedom.

Look, I agree with you that Skiingff needs to layout how the money is going to flow, much better than he has already. Cut him some slack, alright? He is handling at least 2 HUGE projects right now and setting up a PAC on top of it. If you see something he's posted that is not clear, or you can think of a better way to do it, just send him a PM. That is what I just did.

We're all on the same side here and we are all doing our best. I can assure you that no one in this TV ad effort has any plans to even get close to breaking any laws.

[deedles]

Then skiingf needs to state very clearly his intentions to form a PAC for this purpose and advise all participants how to donate, and delegate specifically who is responsible for securing the media buy in each market (a local individual or someone from his PAC office). I did not interpret the original plan this way, it comes across more cavalier in its approach to get local meetups to raise their own money and buy their own media time without any money leaving the area into a national PAC, and without being under the guidance of a single PAC, or without even forming their own local PACs.

So we need some clarity on the actual route the money should take, and the name(s) that need to be attached to the money.

I agree that some guidance in this area would be helpful. Members of my meetup are interested but have these questions to be answered. I don't think anyone is wanting to get involved with FEC paperwork on a local basis...

Thanks

[deedles]

And thanks again to those taking the lead on this great opportunity! You guys are really wonderful and should definitely get an invite to the White House to meetup President Paul in person!

[Nathan Hale]

Nathan, no one is stopping you from contributing to the New Hampshire/Iowa fund.

Sigh. THIS IS NOT THE POINT. Of course nobody is stopping me from contributing to the fund in those states. My point is that YOU should also donate to those states' funds because those states are more important.


There is no reason we can't do both. I happen to think national awareness is very important.

National awareness really translates to higher local awareness, including in New Hampshire and Iowa.

Both would be great, but we need to set priorities. Better NH and IA than LA, so let's at least fill placements in those more meaningful states before we start filling placements in less relevant states.

National awareness IS important, but there is an order of operations that we need to understand. Louisiana is not high up on the order of operations.

[MsDoodahs]

You control your pocketbook and leave the meetup members in LA to control theirs, how bout it?

sheesh there are a flat TON of control freaks on this board.

and I'm thankful every day that Ron is NOT one.

lol...

[Lord Xar]

I think Nathan has some valid points... rather than spreading the campaign thin where each market is minimal saturated, you concentrate on the top two states of most importance - and saturate THOSE markets. I feel there is validity in that. don't get bogged down right now in the implementation -- as I think you will have, or more apt, NH will have ample time to get "additional" saturation with other projects and availabilities..

[Nathan Hale]

I didn't mean to be so rude to you there Nathan, but if you think about it: The more they talk about Ron Paul in the media(new paper, tv, radio) accross the country, the more they will talk about him in Iowa/NH media (and with greater credibility).

Yes, I agree. But save the television spots for the crucial states. The beauty of early primary states is that if you're doing well there, the media in the other states picks up on it. Giuliani is the national frontrunner, but Romney is considered his equal....because he does well in the early primary states. The best thing to do in states like Louisiana is to keep up the viral marketing (i.e. revolution posters all over town, door-to-door work, sign waves, etc) IN CONJUNCTION with big spending in the early primary states.

[MsDoodahs]

I think Nathan has some valid points... rather than spreading the campaign thin where each market is minimal saturated, you concentrate on the top two states of most importance - and saturate THOSE markets. I feel there is validity in that. don't get bogged down right now in the implementation -- as I think you will have, or more apt, NH will have ample time to get "additional" saturation with other projects and availabilities..

I recognize that a lot of people are thinking that IA and NH are the most important, then SC and ... where is the next one? FL? Anyway, I realize some think those are the states where the ads should run.

AND - if you believe that way, then YOU send YOUR MONEY to buy ads for those states.

The people in LA paid for the ad to run IN LA. There is nothing wrong with that.

[Nathan Hale]

You control your pocketbook and leave the meetup members in LA to control theirs, how bout it?

sheesh there are a flat TON of control freaks on this board.

and I'm thankful every day that Ron is NOT one.

lol...

You've obviously never been involved in a political campaign. I'm not trying to control anybody's pocketbook. But I am letting you know what you need to do if you want Ron Paul to win. Contrary to your belief, everybody doing whatever they want is NOT the best recipe to win a race. It's not even a good recipe to win a race. It works for now ONLY because it costs the Paul campaign nothing to have all the meetups doing their own thing.

And for the most part, the meetups doing their own thing is good, because their efforts are mostly low-cost viral stuff. But when we talk about expensive endeavors like TV ads, we need to understand basic strategy. We have limited resources, and we need to spend those resources where they are best used. Often this means donating money to a location other than your local area.

[Nathan Hale]

I recognize that a lot of people are thinking that IA and NH are the most important, then SC and ... where is the next one? FL? Anyway, I realize some think those are the states where the ads should run.

AND - if you believe that way, then YOU send YOUR MONEY to buy ads for those states.

Laissez Faire works great in economics. But it's SHIT in political strategy. Just FYI.



The people in LA paid for the ad to run IN LA. There is nothing wrong with that.

Yes, there is. Because their ad is worth more running in a market in NH or IA. It's nice to have an ad run in LA, don't get me wrong, but that ad is better off running in a market in an early primary state.

[MsDoodahs]

Often this means donating money to a location other than your local area.



Feel free to do that with YOUR dollars, and anyone else who agrees with you can of course do the same.

I like skiing's idea of every state buying ads for cities in their respective states.

[MsDoodahs]

Yes, there is. Because their ad is worth more running in a market in NH or IA. It's nice to have an ad run in LA, don't get me wrong, but that ad is better off running in a market in an early primary state.

They bought the ad for LA with their LA money, and thank God, you don't get to stop them.

[DjLoTi]

I absolutely agree with MsDoodahs. People have the right to spend their money however they want, no one can tell them to do the commercial in NH if they want to do it in LA. It's their money. They can spend it however they want.

[EvoPro]

I understand where Nathan is coming from though and I think many people agree with him, which is why more advertising will go to NH and Iowa. Remmember though that this is unconventional campaign, in that the national media hates us.

[FluffyUnbound]

If Paul doesn't start polling above 3% nationally, it doesn't matter how many ads you run in IA or NH. The voters in IA or NH aren't going to vote for someone polling at 3% just because they see an ad about him.

Paul has to get into double digits in the national polls to even have a chance in the small early states. The campaign has to be local and national at the same time.

That means if some people are running ads in outer markets and some people are running ads in NH, that's a GOOD thing.

[LibertyEagle]

I absolutely agree with MsDoodahs. People have the right to spend their money however they want, no one can tell them to do the commercial in NH if they want to do it in LA. It's their money. They can spend it however they want.

Yeah, I agree. People should spend their own money where they choose.

I do however agree with Nathan's premise that New Hampshire and Iowa are critical early states, so that is where I will choose to spend my money for TV ads.

[ronpaulhawaii]

I don't get something; wouldn't IA and NH be a part of this Nationwide Campaign? Aren't the commericials going to be shown there primarily, then if the rest of the country joins into this aspect, all the better. I guess it's that some people think we should spend as much as possible in these two states (a good thing), and nothing in the rest (for now). I disagree if that is the case. ISTM if opNH has enough to be offering extra to needy MU's for this effort, than they have enough to hit IA and NH effectively already.

???

[skiingff]

I think Lord Xar and LibertyEagle have answered a lot of questions well, and we'll all work together to make this a huge success.

Lord Xar has a PAC, as does Op NH. That's 2 PACs. Tomorrow, I will seek clarification from the FEC on how to best and legally go about this. My intent was to have the Meetup group organizers purchase the airtime on their own credit cards, and then I would simply report on my FEC paperwork that their bank account is an additional bank account the PAC has used. Like I said, I'm not 100% sure how DETAILED the PAC will have to report where funds originated from. Do we need account #s, or can we simply list the Meetup leader as a funding source we've used? Depending on the answer to that, we will choose one of two courses of action:
1.) Each Meetup purchases their own airtime.
2.) Each Meetup funnels their money thru the PAC.

Either way, the funding WILL be reported to the FEC as required by law, so don't sweat it, it's being taken care of and will be clarified tomorrow. Having each Meetup form a PAC is NOT an option. We can't make 100 different versions of the commercials to have 100 different voiceovers and 100 different text disclaimers for each PAC to have their own disclaimer in there. So it WILL be handled by 2 PACs at the most to keep things simple.

Now, I'm working hard to try to make this process AS USER-FRIENDLY as possible. I want to make it easy for each Meetup to purchase airtime. My goal is not to make things complicated. That's why I figured each Meetup could Create and Purchase their own airtime schedules and this project could be Self-Administrated. AGAIN, I am checking into the legalities with the FEC and working with Lawyers so the FEC doesn't come down on me for organizing this. The goal here is to make things as user-friendly and easy to do as POSSIBLE so everyone can participate.

---

Now, the other issue was national campaign vs. saturated in one or two states. It's clear in the invitation letter that each Meetup group can decide how to best spend THEIR money... it's up to them. I explained both options, so we can inform and they can decide (like Fox News, We Report, You Decide ;)

A national campaign the first time around would be better, perhaps when we have our second commercial week after this one is a success, we can be more focused. But right now, most people won't want to funnel their money to another state. They want to be able to watch their successes on their local TVs...

[skiingff]

I don't get something; wouldn't IA and NH be a part of this Nationwide Campaign? Aren't the commericials going to be shown there primarily, then if the rest of the country joins into this aspect, all the better. I guess it's that some people think we should spend as much as possible in these two states (a good thing), and nothing in the rest (for now). I disagree if that is the case. ISTM if opNH has enough to be offering extra to needy MU's for this effort, than they have enough to hit IA and NH effectively already.

???

What has happened is that 450 Meetup groups have been invited to participate. about 250 more will be contacted, and then we will go thru the process again and RE-CONTACT every Meetup group, explaining to them that X number of Meetup groups have signed up thus far, explain in more detail how things will work once we get it clarified, explain to them the funding assistance, explain to them they can combine with another Meetup group to do this, etc. so in the end we reinforce the simplicity and need for them to participate if they have not yet done so (the goal is to get as many Meetups involved as possible, but it's THEIR individual choice, we will simply inform them how easy we're trying to make it for them).

So far, 7 Meetups in 6 states have signed up for national commercial week -- Meetups in Ohio, West Virginia, Illinois, Texas, Missouri, and Iowa. It's only been 2 days, so expect those RSVPs to keep flowing in. Lots of Meetups have yet to be contacted, but we will get them all contacted by the end of today into tomorrow, and then go back and start the re-contacting process with additional info.

EDIT: P.S. It's not that Op NH has enough money... there is $1,900 in the Op NH account. The maximum grant that may possibly be issued per Meetup group is $200... and the Meetups will need to prove genuine necessity in order to be issued a grant. It's not a welfare fund, it's a fund for groups that have tried really really hard, but just can't make it, or they are getting too close to the deadline and need another X amount of money quickly to meet the minimum. Yes, the fund WILL be used... but to groups in NEED. Some of the smaller groups, especially, may need assistance. Since the goal is to get TV commercials aired nationwide and make a big impression and cause a big stir... I feel we need to help in achieving this goal, even if it means financially.

[ronpaulhawaii]

112 - 334 - 562

have been forwarded your post.

Thanks for all your hard work

m

[zebov]

This is a great opportunity for local meetups and individuals to show mainstream media that Ron Paul does in fact have support and he should be taken seriously. I will be talking to my meetup about this opportunity tonight.

(More information on the deatils of donating to the PAC will be greatly appreciated when it comes available).

[nayjevin]

There is a PAC, Americans United For Freedom.

this didn't quite answer the question for me... could someone clarify?

[skiingff]

this didn't quite answer the question for me... could someone clarify?

Please give me about an hour to formulate a document explaining the FEC legalities of National Commercial Week and how we will proceed from this point. I just got off the phone with the FEC and read over a whole crapload of documents, I need time to analyze and summarize them.

All legality questions will have an answer from this document, and it will cite appropriate references.

[skiingff]

FEC Compliance

In-Kind Contributions to AUF PAC
If any Meetup group organizer/member purchases airtime on his or her personal credit card and donates that airtime to AUF PAC, it is considered an in-kind contribution [1]. An in-kind contribution, as defined by FEC regulations, is any contribution other than a direct cash contribution; including a contribution of goods, services, payments by a third party of committee bills, and advanced of personal funds.

What this means, is if any individual of your Meetup group purchases airtime for Ron Paul TV commercials with personal funds and donates that airtime to AUF PAC, all they would need to do is tell us what the airtime cost them. AUF PAC would then report that contribution as a non-monetary (in-kind) contribution on our quarterly report from that individual [1,3]. Individual contributions, whether monetary or in-kind, to our PAC are limited to $5,000 per election cycle [3]. In summary, as long as a contribution of airtime to AUF PAC is made from an individual's personal funds, it's the same thing legally as a contribution of money. That individual can make his or her own airtime schedule and purchase it with his or her own credit card, as long as he or she notifies us that they have done so and that it's for National Commercial Week. AUF PAC will fill out all necessary paperwork.

Earmarked Contributions to AUF PAC
An earmarked contribution is a contribution that the contributor directs to a PAC through a conduit. A conduit is anyone who receives and forwards an earmarked contribution to a PAC [2]. This means, if a Meetup group leader were to collect donations from their group members/anyone else for the purpose of making a contribution to AUF PAC, he or she would be acting as a conduit. Since the conduit (the group organizer) would be exercising direction or control over the money by designing the airtime schedule, the conduit's contribution to AUF PAC, as well as any individual contributions given to the conduit to help them make the contribution, would count against their $5,000 limits to AUF PAC. Per FEC regulations, the conduit (the group organizer) would have to forward all earmarked contributions, along with a transmittal report, to AUF PAC within 10 days of receiving them [2]. They would also have to disclose information on an earmarked contribution in a letter to the FEC within 30 days after forwarding the earmarked contribution [2]. IT'S UNCLEAR AT THIS TIME WHETHER AN IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION (THE GROUP LEADER PURCHASING THE ACTUAL AIRTIME HIS OR HER SELF WHILE ACTING AS A CONDUIT) WOULD BE THE SAME AS A MONETARY CONTRIBUTION FOR THE PURPOSES OF FEC REQUIREMENTS. THE FEC ONLY MENTIONS MONETARY EARMARKS... THEY DO NOT MENTION IN-KIND EARMARKS.

HOWEVER, if the conduit does NOT exercise direction or control over the way the airtime is purchased, say, they let AUF PAC or its agents (the ad agency) design an airtime schedule FOR them, there would be NO reporting or transmittal requirements, EXCEPT the conduit would simply need to forward AUF PAC a list of the names and addresses of each individual who contributed, and the individuals' employers and occupations if they contributed over $200 to the effort [2]. All earmarked contributions would still count against each contributor’s contribution limit to the PAC of $5,000 per election cycle. ALTERNATIVELY, if the conduit were to directly send AUF PAC the money, and have AUF PAC purchase the airtime AND design an airtime schedule for them, it would be the same as if the conduit purchased the airtime his or herself as an in-kind contribution and had AUF PAC or its agents design the airtime schedule. So either way, sending the PAC the money directly, or purchasing the airtime yourself and simply having AUF PAC create the airtime schedule, would be the same in legal terms.

Notes:
[1] http://www.fec.gov/info/PartyGuide/Chapter2.htm
[2] http://www.fec.gov/info/PartyGuide/Chapter6.htm
[3] http://www.fec.gov/info/PartyGuide/Chapter5.htm




Summary: What Does All This Mean To The Meetup Groups?
Meetup groups have 2 options:
1.) Have an individual in the Meetup group purchase the airtime on his or her personal credit card, and have that individual shoot an e-mail to AUF PAC saying that the purchase was made from his or her personal funds. The only thing that would happen in this case, is AUF PAC would have to report the in-kind contribution by the individual and it would count against his or her $5,000 limit. But in this case, your Meetup group could design and purchase your own airtime schedule. AUF PAC has no control and cannot be held responsible for non-reporting of any earmarked contributions (contributions collected together as a group) or any cash gifts given to the purchaser of the airtime... if any money was given to the purchaser of the airtime for the purpose of him or her purchasing it... it would be your responsibility, as a Meetup group, to disclose this to AUF PAC.

2.) If you Collect money as a group (earmark), you must make out a check or send the money electronically to “Americans United for Freedom PAC” – the AUF PAC bank account is donate@operationnh.com on PayPal or make out a check to AUF PAC (we will give you our physical address). If you choose this option, AUF PAC will design and purchase the airtime schedule FOR YOU. You cannot LEGALLY direct or control how any earmarked contributions to AUF PAC are spent, therefore your Meetup group may ONLY choose the fund your earmarked contribution goes to (eg, the New Hampshire Airtime Fund, the Texas airtime fund, etc.) There will be a separate airtime fund for each state. If your earmarked donation is sent to your home state's airtime fund, we will purchase airtime in your LOCAL TV market (or a nearby TV market if that's not practical). If you donate to the Iowa Airtime Fund, for example, we will purchase airtime where we feel it will be most cost-efficient and make the biggest impact in the state of Iowa. Just specify which fund you're sending the money to and which Meetup group you are when you do so.

[LibertyEagle]

Man, you deserve a prize for putting all this together. Very well done. Thank you so much for all you are doing, Skiingff! :)

[Nathan Hale]

Feel free to do that with YOUR dollars, and anyone else who agrees with you can of course do the same.

Sigh, obviously you missed my point.

[Nathan Hale]

They bought the ad for LA with their LA money, and thank God, you don't get to stop them.

I'm not trying to use force to stop them. In this thread we are discussing what should be done in order to best help the Paul campaign. In my posts I am saying what should be done, by all of us, to best help the Paul campaign. At no point am I advocating forcing people to do anything.

[Nathan Hale]

I absolutely agree with MsDoodahs. People have the right to spend their money however they want, no one can tell them to do the commercial in NH if they want to do it in LA. It's their money. They can spend it however they want.

Why do I always find myself, when talking with libertarians, having to clarify that when I say "everybody should do X, Y, and Z" that I'm not talking about using force? This is a campaign strategy thread. OBVIOUSLY we're talking about how the campaign should be run, and not how force should be applied. My point is that the effective strategy is to have everybody send their money toward TV placements in early primary states.

[Electrostatic]

Ok, So, I wrote a reply to this and it was killed by the server.. So let's try again.

Quick Take on Ads (My Own Opinion)

1. My vote would be for doing it nationally. Ron Paul's name recognition outside of highly political active groups is DISMAL. Anyone who has gotten up from their computer and canvassed their precinct can attest to this. Furthermore, the official campaign will be hitting the early states and hitting them hard. We need the national buzz, however, which we do not yet have.

2. Find a lawyer with knowledge of campaign laws. <-- Important!

3. I believe that as long as it is done through a PAC, individual donations are kept at $5000 or below, and the ads air long enough before the primaries, everything will be fine, as I said though, refer to point 2.

4. You may want to go through the FEC filings to find "big donors" to help augment the meetup contributions.

5. We should also consider forming a 527 group as the antithesis of "Freedomswatch". There are no limits as to the amount of money which can be raised and spent on general education. Seriously, a few millionaires could do a lot to reverse the propaganda in this country. (Or at least level it out a bit...)

Please let me know if there are any specific tasks I could take care of to help you, and thank you so much for getting this done.

Chris

p.s. If you are not ACTUALLY DOING something of your own that you believe is better than this please hold of on the doubts (Unless they are directly constructive.). If we are paralyzed by indecision we have a 100% chance of losing.

[speciallyblend]

GROUP HUG now everyone kiss and hug, RON PAUL 2008

[zebov]

Indiana is in!

[LibertyEagle]

5. We should also consider forming a 527 group as the antithesis of "Freedomswatch". There are no limits as to the amount of money which can be raised and spent on general education. Seriously, a few millionaires could do a lot to reverse the propaganda in this country. (Or at least level it out a bit...)



Ooohhh.... that's a good idea. Where are the millionaires? lol

[skiingff]

Ok, So, I wrote a reply to this and it was killed by the server.. So let's try again.

Quick Take on Ads (My Own Opinion)

1. My vote would be for doing it nationally. Ron Paul's name recognition outside of highly political active groups is DISMAL. Anyone who has gotten up from their computer and canvassed their precinct can attest to this. Furthermore, the official campaign will be hitting the early states and hitting them hard. We need the national buzz, however, which we do not yet have.

2. Find a lawyer with knowledge of campaign laws. <-- Important!

3. I believe that as long as it is done through a PAC, individual donations are kept at $5000 or below, and the ads air long enough before the primaries, everything will be fine, as I said though, refer to point 2.

4. You may want to go through the FEC filings to find "big donors" to help augment the meetup contributions.

5. We should also consider forming a 527 group as the antithesis of "Freedomswatch". There are no limits as to the amount of money which can be raised and spent on general education. Seriously, a few millionaires could do a lot to reverse the propaganda in this country. (Or at least level it out a bit...)

Please let me know if there are any specific tasks I could take care of to help you, and thank you so much for getting this done.

Chris

p.s. If you are not ACTUALLY DOING something of your own that you believe is better than this please hold of on the doubts (Unless they are directly constructive.). If we are paralyzed by indecision we have a 100% chance of losing.

We can't form a 527. Let's put that myth to rest right now. Look up 527's on Wikipedia, and you'll see why. Technically, a PAC is a 527 anyway... 527 is the numeric representation of the actual law code. PACs fall under that law code.

All the big 527's you've heard about have been fined thousands by the FEC. It is illegal for a 527 to specifically advocate the election/defeat of a candidate.

So far, 9 Meetup groups in 8 states have signed up. Like you mentioned, the unifying message here is to get the WORD OUT about Ron Paul. BTW, if you find a millionaire willing to put up that amount of money for Ron Paul... screw the FEC, let's create a 527 :D

But in all seriousness, people are complaining about Bill O'Reilly this and Bill O'Reilly that. WHO CARES!?!? You are not going to change Bill O'Reilly. All your nasty e-mails you send him do is make him more popular and add fuel to the fire... give me a break. He is popular because people like us make a big HOOPLAH out of him... and that's all I will say about that.

Our goal, is to COUNTER the MSM's efforts to discredit / ignore Ron Paul by forcing the issue on them and taking the fight right to their TV sets. It's impossible to ignore something that airs on your TV station. You can try to ignore it... but in the end, we will always win because we're forcing the issue. We're getting the message out. And you (the TV stations) can't stop that. You can't stop US...

[jb4ronpaul]

we have started raising money in Columbus, aiming for $2000

[qwerty]

BUMP!

:cool:

[constituent]

bump for the millionaires and umemployed libertarians alike.

[qwerty]

How is it going ?

[Brian]

Why do I always find myself, when talking with libertarians, having to clarify that when I say "everybody should do X, Y, and Z" that I'm not talking about using force? This is a campaign strategy thread. OBVIOUSLY we're talking about how the campaign should be run, and not how force should be applied. My point is that the effective strategy is to have everybody send their money toward TV placements in early primary states.

Suggestion noted. I am from Nevada, and as an early caucus state, I feel my money should be used in Nevada, and I don't expect other's money to be used in Nevada. If you tell me my money will be used in Iowa or NH, as much as I respect the FSP and recognize it as a critical state, I won't get involved. I've got my own battles to fight here, a nasty uphill battle, and I give to the national campaign. If you can guarantee that my money will be used in Nevada, I will personally commit to getting commercials shown here.


Edit: BTW, I also donated to the commercial production fund, and I immensely appreciate the huge time and expense you all are putting into this effort. It doesn't seem like it could be done any other way.

[FrankRep]

Help Columbus, Ohio get Ron Paul TV Commercials.

http://joebozzi.chipin.com/columbus-ron-paul-tv-commercial

[LibertyEagle]

bump

[LibertyEagle]

what's the update on this? Are the ads running right now in New Hampshire?

[Mastiff]

I haven't heard anything of this in Eastern Iowa on the meetups. We're minimally organized with not that many people though. Will we get welfare to help buy ad time? :)

[Leslie Webb]

With 40,000+ members in the meetups we should have enough money to have our cake and eat it too-- do a national campaign followed by saturation in key primary states.

However, I wonder if we can do better than the ad posted. This ad may get us some name recognition, but it seemed to me like another run of the mill political spot. The mosaic ad in the Ames Tribune at the Iowa Straw Poll was impressive. Aravoth's videos and the Our Power, Our Responsibility videos are powerful. Can we do something as good as these in thirty seconds? Thirty seconds is not much time and maybe it's the nature of the beast, but I would hope we could come up with something that doesn't look and sound like another Joe Biden, Sam Brownback, etc. spot. It is all too easy for the average viewer to press the mute button.

[M.Bellmore]

Why isn't this a Sticky?

Anyhow, Michigan is in (although late to the game). here is the chip-in:

http://www.michigan4ronpaul.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=795&start=30

Thanks!

[FrankRep]

Ohio is on Board too!

http://ronpaul.meetup.com/151/messages/boards/view/viewthread?thread=3500348

[JenHarris]

The date of the ad is a little bad for my group because it's illegal for us to put up Ron Paul signs until 90 days before the election. (They are gonna be jerks about it so it's better to just follow the rules for us here)

We really want to use our raised money to make a huge splash in town by coordinating the commercial with other events including a paint the town Ron. I like the idea of a national week but it's not looking to have real national coverage at the moment so maybe we should relax the date and just let groups do the ad when it suits their area?

It's just a thought and sort of a question if it's ok.

[JenHarris]

Also (sorry for multiple posts) I'm a bit confused about the laws so hopefully someone can answer this for me.

My group raised cash for a commercial (13 people) and we want to control when and where our Ad runs locally. We're planned to start a bank account for our meet up group and pay with that. Is that a bad idea?

If we don't do the bank account I just want to make sure I have the following right.

Even if one person pays for the ad with their credit card, because more than one person paid for it we need to send the list of contributors to the PAC and we'll be fine?