By FP1 Strategies
How do you overcome being outspent by $70 million in a U.S. Senate race against a three-term incumbent? You need a strong message and great creative.
FP1 is proud to have served as the media consultant to Senator Tim Sheehy’s groundbreaking campaign in Montana. Our television and digital advertising helped Sheehy retire Jon Tester, one of the toughest and most entrenched Democratic Senate incumbents.
Our ads that launched Sheehy’s campaign in 2023 won the Gold Pollie for Best Television Campaign and helped avoid a costly and bruising primary against firebrand Congressman Matt Rosendale. Our ads that closed the deal in 2024 won the Gold Pollie for Best in Show. In total, we won 17 creative awards for our 18-month advertising campaign for Senator Sheehy.
We are honored to have been part of Team Sheehy. Tim was from central casting. He was a decorated Navy SEAL who had earned a Bronze Star with Valor and a Purple Heart. He was a successful businessman who had created hundreds of Montana jobs, and he was a dedicated husband and father of four beautiful children who had donated millions of dollars to improve pediatric health care in Montana.
Over the course of a long campaign, we ran several biographical ads that leaned in heavily on Sheehy’s military service and his commitment to Montana. These ads effectively muted the impact of Jon Tester’s and Chuck Schumer’s brutal 12-month negative advertising campaign against Sheehy. With Montana being the tipping point state that would determine control of the U.S. Senate, the Democrats threw the kitchen sink at Sheehy. They attacked his businesses. They smeared his military service. They lied about his positions on the issues. They flooded Montana’s media markets with more than a $100 million of the best ads liberal money could buy.
At every turn, we countered the Democrats’ best attacks with better ads that cut through the cluttered airwaves. In a bold and daring strategic decision, we cast a Tester look-alike actor to poke fun at Tester and expose his liberal voting record. In partnership with the NRSC, we deployed several innovative hybrid ads that relentlessly tied Tester to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
On Election Day, Tim Sheehy defeated Jon Tester by a margin of 53% to 45%. Given the spending disparity in the race and the folk hero status Tester had built in Montana over his 18 years in the Senate, this was a monumental achievement. The Sheehy campaign set the gold standard during the 2024 cycle.
Watch some of our award-winning ads from the Montana Senate race:
###