Ben Carson’s campaign has released a new ad targeting young black voters, mixing the soft-spoken GOP presidential candidate’s voice into a rap song.
{mosads}”Heal. Vote! Vote! Inspire. Vote! Vote! Revive. Vote! Vote!” Aspiring Mogul raps in the ad, published online by ABC News on Thursday, alluding to Carson’s “Heal, Inspire, Revive” slogan.
“America became a great nation early on not because it was flooded with politicians, but because it was flooded with people who understood the value of personal responsibility, hard work, creativity, innovation — and that’s what will get us on the right track now,” Carson says between the rapper’s lyrics in the 60-second ad.
The spot, backed by $150,000, will air for two weeks starting Friday in Miami; Atlanta; Houston; Detroit; Birmingham, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Little Rock, Ark., ABC reported.
Carson’s campaign told the network that it plans to aggressively pursue younger African-Americans through the March primaries.
Carson’s broader television ads have so far catered mostly to families and older voters. Those ads, focused on government bureaucracy, have aired in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
The new radio spots offer an “expressed articulation to another market, a non-traditional voting market for Republicans,” Carson’s campaign spokesman told ABC.
Donald Trump, Carson’s chief rival in the Republican race, also released his first radio ads earlier Thursday morning.