COLUMBIA, SC – Building America’s Future of South Carolina (BAF-SC), a statewide and bipartisan coalition dedicated to smart infrastructure investment and reform, today announced a television ad to run through January 16, 2012 on broadcast and cable television.
“We hope this substantial ad buy will help educate South Carolina policymakers and voters on the need for smart infrastructure investment and reform,” said Randy Snow, Vice President with United Infrastructure Group, Inc. and BAF-SC Steering Committee Member. “While our state’s population has grown by over 28 percent in the last ten years, our infrastructure has failed to keep up. Since 1990 we have seen a 49 percent increase in traffic on our roads, and in the next decade or so we expect that to increase by another 45 percent. As a result, we have seen increased congestion and maintenance issues not only on all of our interstates and major highway arteries, but also on the thousands of miles of crumbling rural roads and dozens of structurally deficient bridges. This issue is not about increasing spending – it is about making tough choices that maximize economic return, improve safety and quality of life, stop spending on wasteful projects, and strengthen America’s economic competitiveness around the world.”
“Bumpy road” also aired for three weeks on New Hampshire local network and cable TV in December 2011.
VIEW ONLINE: http://youtu.be/3k0yXlK-T8g
SCRIPT:
WIFE: You are so stubborn… I mean, come on, admit it.
HUSBAND: No, we don’t need to spend more money [THEY HIT A BUMP/POTHOLE] on roads and bridges.
WIFE: BUMP] Really?
HUSBAND: Really. [BUMP]
WIFE: What if we do it right – [BUMP] build it to last, base it on a real plan, not earmarks, and stop sticking taxpayers with cost overruns.
HUSBAND: If someone did that, I’m for spending more. [BUMP]
WIFE: Great. So now admit we’re lost and ask for directions.
ANNOUNCER: Done right, we can build America’s future.
Visual: Reform. Renew. Rebuild.
BAF-SC is a grassroots/media campaign (“Invest in America”) of Building America’s Future Educational Fund (BAFEF). Coalition members can be found at http://www.bafuture.com/sites/default/files/BAFSCMembersBio.pdf.
BAFEF conducted focus groups and polling on the issue of transportation and infrastructure investment among 2012 Republican primary election likely voters (including Tea Party supporters) in South Carolina in September and October. Among the most encouraging of these findings is that Republicans and conservatives are willing to support infrastructure spending when reform, accountability and transparency are included as part of the proposal. The importance of having a long-term strategic plan that focused on need and not politics was also a key take away.
Founded by former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, BAFEF is a bipartisan coalition of state-based elected officials and community leaders dedicated to promoting U.S. investment in infrastructure.
BAFEF’s latest study, “Falling Apart and Falling Behind," details reform measures and a robust long-term infrastructure package that generates economic growth.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Laura Braden, 615-891-8433, lbraden@mercuryllc.com
Ad to Run on South Carolina Broadcast and Cable Television
