Bloomberg to air Super Bowl ad targeting Trump

Michael Bloomberg is set to spend millions to air a campaign ad during the Super Bowl next month, an aide to the former New York City mayor told The Hill on Tuesday.

The 60-second ad spot is expected to take direct aim at President Trump, sticking with a central theme of Bloomberg’s presidential campaign. The aide did not specify how much Bloomberg would spend on the ad, but it could exceed $10 million. Fox, the network airing the Super Bowl, has said that it was receiving “north of $5 million” for 30-second ad slots.

The ad buy was first reported by The New York Times.

Still, the expectedly massive ad buy is only a small part of Bloomberg’s already unprecedented advertising budget. He has reserved nearly $148 million in television spots since launching his campaign in November, according to the ad-tracking firm Advertising Analytics, exceeding the ad spending of all of his rivals.

The Trump campaign has also looked into running a national ad of its own during the Super Bowl, which takes place on Feb. 2, though it’s unclear if an agreement has been finalized. 

While past presidential candidates have aired local ads during the Super Bowl, it’s unusual for campaigns to buy national spots, because of the high price tag. 

Nevertheless, the ad tracks with Bloomberg’s unorthodox campaign strategy. He’s skipping the early caucuses and primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina and will opt instead to compete in states that hold their primaries on Super Tuesday, when voters in 14 states, including California and Texas, will head to the polls.