April 26, 2010
Growth Energy is launching TV ad campaign for ethanol (Agrinews)
by Katie Nickas – AgriNews Publications
INDIANAPOLIS — Ethanol is going from the farm to Fox News and beyond.
Growth Energy, the coalition of ethanol supporters and producers, recently launched its first national television ad campaign — a $2.5 million endeavor — to promote the renewable fuel to consumers."
Six separate spots began airing on Fox, MSNBC, CNN and HLN last Monday. More than half the spots will reach a primetime audience, airing during shows including Larry King Live, Morning Joe and Fox and Friends.
"Ethanol is America's fuel — it's made here in the United States, it creates U.S. jobs and it contributes to America's national and economic security," said Gen. Wesley Clark, co-chairman of Growth Energy.
"This ad campaign is designed to reach beyond the Beltway to communicate those facts about ethanol to the broader American public — people who until now have only heard one side of the story."
Growth Energy is primarily running three 30-second spots consisting of combinations of 15-second spots aired back-to-back.
The message is consistent across the commercials — ethanol is America's clean, economic, independent, renewable, sensible, peace fuel.
"Attracting attention to ethanol is a critical part of the Growth Energy campaign," said Greg Noble, general manager of the POET ethanol facility in Portland, Ind. "I think ethanol is misunderstood by the public to a large degree, particularly when corn went from $2.50 to $3 a bushel during the last campaign."
Growth Energy has recently addressed public concern about ethanol's possible price-hiking effect on corn and, in turn, its effect on the cost of other foods.
In a new media booklet, it explains that fundamental supply-and-demand relationships influence the prices of bread, eggs, milk and other foods.
"The food-versus-fuel debate is a little misleading, since it is yellow No. 2 and not food corn that goes to ethanol production," said Chris Thorne, director of public affairs for Growth Energy. ''Ninety percent of U.S. arable land goes to livestock rather than grain production."
He said it is unnecessary to increase corn acreage to feed the U.S. ethanol industry since the country has witnessed carryover surpluses for years and yields per acre continue to rise.
"Ethanol offers distillers dried grains, which are very much in demand for livestock producers," Thorne said.
The new ad campaign is part of Growth Energy's long-term goal to obtain an E15 waiver to increase the national ethanol fuel blend from 10 percent to 15 percent. The group is awaiting a ruling from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is expected in June.
"This ad campaign is the result of the Growth Energy board of directors' work on ethanol as a viable conversation and also how to create national awareness," Noble said. "Ethanol is fairly well-known in the Midwest compared to the coast."
"Agriculture is such a critical part of our country, and with increasing corn yields, we need more of a demand for corn," he said. "We've gone from about 80 bushels per acre to 164 bushels per acre, so the question of what to do with all that corn remains a challenge."
