| Featured Case Study |
 John Yarmuth
(D-Kentucky)
2008 Re-Election
In 2006, first-time candidate John Yarmuth defeated 10-year Republican incumbent Anne Northup, 52%-48%, despite being significantly outspent and receiving virtually no help from the DCCC. In 2008, Northup sought to reclaim her seat. Polling initially had the two candidates only 4 points apart, but Yarmuth was aggressive about telling his own story. The 2008 campaign ran 8 TV spots, 7 of which were positive. In the end, despite Northup spending more than a million dollars, Yarmuth coasted to a 60% victory.
 Yarmuth TV Ads
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The 60-second ad, Listening, was the first ad of the 2008 Yarmuth campaign. It shows how we defined the race by emphasizing John's many accomplishments in office. |
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"Darryl" |
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"New Day" |
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"Exceptional" |
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"Everything" |
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John talks about
Dave Heller
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“In challenging a five-term incumbent in 2006, I knew I had to make the case for change, but without sounding offensive. Dave Heller's ads allowed me to do that with humor, uniqueness, and a great visual quality.... I would not have won the election without the very distinctive and gorgeous ads that Dave Heller produced for my campaign.” |
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 Yarmuth Radio Ads |
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Our Philosophy
What We Do
By helping our clients run tough, smart, tactical campaigns and producing award-winning TV and radio ads, Main Street enables its candidates to define both themselves and the larger political debate. As media and strategic consultants, Main Street works with your pollster to create and implement a cohesive, proactive and consistent message that develops a clear candidate image, takes the offense in the media and in the blogs, responds quickly and aggressively to crises and redefines the opposition.
Our Philosophy
We believe in a basic principle: winning campaigns are based on creative ads. Most people do not care about politics – and they hate political ads. Making matters worse, campaigns must compete not only with their opponents, but also with large corporations for airtime. The average congressional campaign may spend $1,000,000 on TV and radio ads over several months; IBM might spend that much for just a couple of weeks of advertising. That is why your ads must be clever, concise, humorous and unique – in short, they must demonstrate the originality and the creativity it takes to punch through a crowded TV market.
We accomplish this by creating compelling ads that use humor, music and pop culture references to connect with voters on an emotional level. Our ads neither look nor sound “political.” We have built our reputation by producing creative, strategic, and smart-looking ads that help our candidates win upset races against better-funded “front-runners”; our clients are often out-spent, but never out-hustled.
With Main Street, we become far more than strategic partners in your campaign; we become steadfast allies in battle focused almost single-mindedly on helping you win. Whether it is producing award-winning ads or winning elections, we have a record of winning and a level of involvement no other firm can match.
Our Personalized Service
At Main Street, we guarantee that each client will receive the hands-on personal attention from our principal, David Heller, every step of the way. We do not keep additional producers on staff; when you hire Main Street, you get David Heller. He writes all of the scripts, directs the shoots, and edits all of the spots personally. At Main Street, we pride ourselves on an exceptional level of client service, and strictly limit the number of clients that we take on. Unlike other firms that may put the interests of various special interests groups first, we always puts the needs of our clients first -- even at great personal cost. We work within your budget to achieve targeted, measurable results that always connect directly to the strategic goals of the campaign.
Main Street's Rules of Engagement
- Know Your Target Audience. Know who they are and what they care about, and design ads that move them.
- Define the Debate, Don’t React to It. Make sure your ads are always setting the agenda for the campaign, not responding.
- Be Innovative & Unpredictable. Find new ways to communicate the campaign’s message.
- The Poll and the Research Self and Oppo are the two most expensive books a candidate will ever buy. The media consultant has a responsibility to be intimately familiar with each of them and, of course, to use them extensively.
- Always Be Credible. Never tell voters the opposite of what they already believe.
- Connect with Voters on a Visceral Level. Emotional ads can build a bond that is hard to break.
- Keep it Fresh. The ads must be interesting to - and connect with - the viewer, or they will not get watched.
- Production Values Matter. Rich colors, smart graphics, soft light, consistent flesh tones … these are all things that give ads a higher quality look, and subliminally impress voters.
- Radio is Different Than Television. Never ever let immediate consultant convince you to run a television spot as a radio spot. Radio is a completely different medium, and should be treated as such-with creativity and originality.
- Throw Out the Conventional Wisdom. Washington usually gets it wrong. That's why our strategies often run contrary to conventional wisdom-but are always in perfect harmony with the campaign's research and polling.
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John Yarmuth "Different Direction"
Campaign Plan Development 
