Rick Berg's First Campaign Ad Almost Identical To Ad By Former Virginia Lawmaker Ward Armstrong

North Dakota Republican Rep. Rick Berg‘s first Senate campaign ad may seem impressive, but it lacks something important -- originality.

The ad -- which shows Berg sitting at a table with his mother, reminiscing about the past -- is almost identical to an ad previously released by Ward Armstrong, the former minority leader in the Virginia House of Delegates. Berg's "Mom" ad is executed almost exactly like Armstrong's "Taught" ad, right down to the use of family photos and handwritten-style font.

Berg came under fire for the ad after a Florida blogger noticed the similarity between the two campaign spots. On Friday, the Democratic-Nonpartisan League of North Dakota released a statement hitting Berg for the recycled ad.

“North Dakotans shouldn’t be surprised that Rick Berg plagiarized an East Coast politician’s ad,” said Alison Kelly, spokeswoman for the Democratic-NPL. “In Washington, Congressman Berg has been an active player in the petty partisan squabbles that are driving our country off the cliff, putting his own national political career and Washington political games before the interests of North Dakota. Now, Berg is approaching his Senate campaign with the same cut-and-paste Washington approach.”

The Democratic-NPL also noted that the ad didn't help Armstrong, who lost his election in November 2011.

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Comments

[Karma2U]

07:00 PM on 02/26/2012

Ideas? We don't need no stinkin ideas! We got guns!

[reyam]

04:29 PM on 02/26/2012

As a North Dakotan I certainly wish Ricky's mom had used aspirin instead of conceiving him!

[Dkbny]

03:34 PM on 02/26/2012

Shows the lack of creative thought process on repubs side. Even his staff didn't think "wait a minute... Plagiarism is what got me kicked outa high school" ?

[Dave Harrison]

03:19 PM on 02/26/2012

Note to Rick Berg, If you are going to steal an ad at least make it one that worked and the candidate at least won.

The Democratic-NPL also noted that the ad didn't help Armstrong, who lost his election in November 2011.

[den1953]

01:24 PM on 02/26/2012

Gee the Republicans have been running the country like this for years!

[ffny]

11:48 AM on 02/26/2012

Is this a case of "Monkey see, Monkey in do do"

[happyfella73]

11:21 AM on 02/26/2012

Lazy. A copy and paste effort. Plagiarism of creativity.

[Bunny Tickle Britches]

11:08 AM on 02/26/2012

Copying another student's homework is lazy - and it makes you look stupid.

[luv ya]

10:26 AM on 02/26/2012

Brilliant.
The GOP does not need to think and create, just copy, reverse and claim any success if it ends up being effective.

[hetrose]

09:09 AM on 02/26/2012

The New GOP - So Bereft of Ideas We Even Use the Other Guys' Commercials! But Don't We Look Better Doing It?

[DRouss3977]

09:02 AM on 02/26/2012

The GOP/TP haven't had an ORIGINAL idea in years!

[jennyopines]

08:43 AM on 02/26/2012

Doesn't anyone care about dads anymore?

[alumcreek]

08:24 AM on 02/26/2012

To be pro gun is to be anti-life. Guns are used to end life and for precious little else.

[John Roman]

09:24 AM on 02/26/2012

Another hypocrisy noted.

[alumcreek]

08:22 AM on 02/26/2012

Plagiarism of this sort can be laid at the feet of the company that produced the script and shot the ad. The person who put it together will be seeking a new job soon if not already unles that person owns the agency.

[speechteach]

10:03 AM on 02/26/2012

Knowing enough about Rick Berg tells me he never had an original thought in his life. His 2010 campaign proved it.

[Lazlo Jamf]

07:04 AM on 02/26/2012

These campaign ads are usually done by ad firms the campaigns hire. It seems to me then that the shoddy work was done by the firm who perhaps just reused a formula hoping nobody would notice. This article doesn't mention who produced the ad but was quick to get statements from a partisan group attacking him for it. Hows abouts a little journalism here.