TV ad war heating up for Ohio Senate seat

[Algorem]

DeWine, Brown spots nearly back-to-back

http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1154075432323710.xml&coll=2

Friday, July 28, 2006
Mark Naymik and Stephen Koff
Plain Dealer Reporters

...Don Spicer, president of Columbus-based Triumph Communications, which places ads for Democrats, said the early ad war is "indicative of the race's competitiveness."

"In the past, DeWine hasn't had to worry about anything," he said. "But with some polls showing Brown with a lead - they have to beat him up."

Spicer said air time is much cheaper now than in October, the peak of the ad season. But he said the campaign and parties are already booking fall air time, making this October's ad rates more costly than those during the heated 2004 presidential campaign.

"I defy you to find a situation where that's happened this early before," he said.