A new ad for Senator Mitch McConnell’s reelection campaign hit YouTube today, and it features one of the most egregious errors that a politician can make in the state of Kentucky: glorifying Duke basketball.
For about a second, the new ad shows Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Lance Thomas embracing after winning the 2010 National Championship. If you remember, that’s when Duke knocked off the number 8-seeded Butler.
I;m not joking, @Team_Mitch ad features Duke bball players celebrating 2010 title #kysen #BBN https://t.co/XFn0xufUfd pic.twitter.com/0zcshIl8iM
— Joe Sonka (@joesonka) March 25, 2014
Here’s the ad:
UPDATE: Removed, of course. Joe Sonka grabbed it though. Thanks, Joe:
UPDATE 2: The ad is back up, but with an edit–a still of Julius Randle where the Duke clip used to be. Also, comments have been turned off for this video. Comments aren’t turned off on Team Mitch’s previous ads. I guess they’re fearing the wrath of Big Blue Nation?
And since it’s bound to come down once Team Mitch realizes their grievous error, here’s a screenshot:
That’s not UK, Senator.
It’s clear that Team Mitch simply mistook the blue & white of Duke for the blue & white of Kentucky-considering the frame right before the offending one featured a Louisville slam dunk (we see where they were going with it).
But holy hell, what a mistake! And during Tournament time?
UPDATE 3: A Team Mitch spokesperson has commented on the ad, according to WFPL (Louisville)’s Phillip M. Bailey:
"The ad was intended to highlight #Kentucky's basketball dominance," says @Team_Mitch spox @MAllison_Moore #KYSen #BBN #Duke
— Phillip M. Bailey (@phillipmbailey) March 25, 2014
.@Team_Mitch spox says the web ad vendor made a mistake with one of the images. #KYSen #Duke
— Phillip M. Bailey (@phillipmbailey) March 25, 2014
"Obviously we were horrified by the error and quickly changed it." — @Team_Mitch spox on #DukeAd. #BBN #KYSEN
— Phillip M. Bailey (@phillipmbailey) March 25, 2014
UPDATE 4: Mitch McConnell’s campaign team has pulled the revised ad featuring Julius Randle as well.
[h/t Joe Sonka]