Senator’s outreach ad to blacks features stock photo from Africa

It would be nice if Richard Burr could find a nice photo of African-Americans in his own state.

A new ad highlighting Sen. Richard Burr’s (R-NC) work in helping disadvantaged children in his state appears to feature black children from a school in Africa, not North Carolina.

The ad titled “Kirby” features an interview with African American Pastor Kirby Jones who says that Burr “has done a great deal to help the children and their families get on a path and trajectory that leads to academic success and life success. He is genuinely interested in our community, in our children.”

…While it is not uncommon for candidates to use stock video footage in an ad, using footage from abroad has tripped up other politicians before. In 2015, Jeb Bush’s super PAC Right to Rise used stock footage from Europe and Asia in an ad promoting promise in America’s future. One of Sen. Marco Rubio’s ads in the presidential race titled “Morning in America’ featured stock footage from Canada.

The Burr campaign released a comment as well as referred questions about the ad to its maker, Doug McAuliffe, who told TPM that the ad company used stock video because it was not able to shoot B-roll of students in Pastor Kirby’s program. According to McAuliffe, he was sensitive about ensuring that Kirby’s group’s tax exempt status was not put in jeopardy by being a part of a political ad.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.