Capitol Ad Watch

By Philip Bunnell

This week’s winner: General Electric (10 ads)
Runner up: Light Squared (7 ads)

The energy industry dominated the pages of Capitol Hill’s top papers between May 13 through the 20th. Out of 130 advertisements surveyed from National Journal, National Journal Daily, Politico, Roll Call, and The Hill, 31 of them were paid for by the energy industry; the closest competitor was the communications industry, with 19 advertisements.

Perhaps the high level of ads paid for by the energy industry can be credited to soaring gas prices nationwide, which has led some lawmakers to propose ending tax breaks to oil and gas companies.  “Guess who’ll pay for new energy taxes…” an ad by the American Petroleum Institute asks readers, and argues that raising taxes on the oil and natural gas industry will have a ripple effect on the American economy.

The leader in advertisements from the energy industry, and the whole of advertisements surveyed, however, was not from the oil and natural gas industry as one might expect: it was General Electric, which supplied 10 of the energy industry’s 31 ads.  Every single one of GE’s ads celebrated the Ronald Reagan Centennial, not a piece of legislation.

The communications industry also had a slew of advertisements.  While Light Squared had the most ads, seven, AT&T had five 2-page spreads. AT&T recently acquired T-Mobile, a move that some have criticized as detrimental to market competition. The Sprint Network, now one of AT&T’s main competitors after Verizon, welcomed the development as healthy competition in its advertisements released this week.

Charitable organizations also had a good showing, with several ads by both the Washington Humane Society and Race for the Cure.  Investment banks also made a splash, with Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and American Express paying for 13 advertisements.