For as long as I can remember political ads always ended with the phrase, “This ad paid for by the Committee to Elect Montgomery Burns,” ususally read by the candidate himself.
NOW every ad I hear seems to end with the candidate saying, “I’m Montgomery Burns and I approve this message.”
Why the change?
Are the ads for state elective office or federal elective office? States make their own laws for state elections.
Remember when you’d see really nasty ads paid for by some local group or something, and when the candidate was called on it, they’d say “I didn’t run that ad, it was the local labor union/PAC/etc.”? I’d imagine that has something to do with it. Now it’s explicity clear which ads have the official seal of quality from the candidate in question.
The first time I noticed this was a Wesley Clark ad, and I’ve heard Dick Gephardt ads with the same thing. Those are, incidentally, the only ads I’ve seen on television for the presidential election.
The new disclosure is required under the Campaign Reform Act of 2002: Federal campaign ads now include disclosure