Haven’t we been down this road once already? It was only 3 years ago that Rounds got busted doing this, and now his buddy DooGard is doing it also with the SAME ad agency! (From the TheAntidote);
lucrative state tourism contract as well as a tidy little contract to promote the University of South Dakota in a variety of forms of advertising including billboard advertising.
That all sounds a bit fishy. An advertising firm works for Republican candidates and those candidates, turned elected officials, reward the advertising firm with millions of dollars in state taxpayer funded contracts.
Now throw in this new and even more disturbing wrinkle.
The Daugaard’s political campaign ads, who are now making taxpayer funded ads because of lucrative state contracts including advertising for the University of South Dakota, are now putting Daugaard into their advertising plan to promote the University – free exposure for Daugaard at taxpayer expense from a contract Daugaard’s campaign advertising team got from the state after Daugaard was elected.
A Perfect Example of What Is Wrong With One Party Government.
Lawrence and Schiller is an advertising firm based in Sioux Falls.
Lawrence and Schiller makes political ads for Republican candidates for office – including Dennis Daugaard’s campaign for governor of South Dakota in 2010.
That fishy smell just got downright putrid.
The University of South Dakota has a reported $1.5 million three year contract with Lawrence and Schiller to promote the University. As part of their work for the University, Lawrence and Schiller has designed billboard copy with Daugaard’s smiling face, identified as “Governor Dennis Daugaard BS – 75†and the slogan, “We will serve the people†along with the tag word, “Onward†and a new USD logo – a rather pedestrian, plain and nondescript one designed by Lawrence and Schiller.
What’s wrong with that picture? Everything.
The arrogance of it is offensive. It is as if Daugaard is saying to South Dakotans, “I won. So, I can now reward my campaign buddies with taxpayer funded state contracts, but cynically, those same taxpayer contracts can promote me as well. It’s great being governor of a one party state.â€
The practice should be banned and Democrats in the legislature ought to sponsor legislation in the upcoming session to do just that.
But what is perhaps as offensive with this new billboard campaign is that Daugaard is no friend of the University of South Dakota. His first budget as Governor slashed funding to the University while it raised tuition on every student that attends the U.
So how did Lawrence and Schiller take care of that little public relations problem: spend taxpayer dollars on billboards suggesting Daugaard is a friend of the University of South Dakota. That is just plain wrong.
Pay to play is bullshit, but it is still legal in SD. And apparently the same offenders continue to rear their heads. What is more troubling is that we are paying a private company that much money to promote a public university.
1) What is wrong with their own marketing department that is already receiving taxpayer money?
2) Where did this money come from since the state is broke and cannot spend any money on education?
Maybe we could hire L & S to come up with a focus group to research the topic.