Dukakis, King Show Strategies in Ads

"You know," the friendly but authoritative voice begins, "if there were a popularity contest for politicians, but it was based on accomplishment, not on personality or good looks, you know who would win that?" The familiar mug then appears on the screen. "It would be Gov. King."

That's one of the many radio and television messages the "people Who Want You to Know the Facts About What Ed King Has Accomplished" have paid for in the past month.

Switch the station, and the Dukakis for Governor Committee responds: "Ed King has spent $200,000 on TV ads to get us to forget the last three years of his administration."

It's only February, but local airwaves are already saturated with slogans and condemnations usually associated with the final few weeks of October. The rise in political advertising coincided with the first face-off of the Democratic gubernatorial campaign--the ward caucuses held last weekend. At this point, the stir of the preliminary elections and the propaganda surrounding them have subsided. But the advertising strategies the candidates have shown so far offer some insights into the three campaigns.

Gov. Edward J. King, trailing in the polls far behind his predecessor and main challenger, Michael S. Dukakis, originally said he would ignore the caucuses. But in the past month, he took out more than $200,000 in radio and television time.

King aides insist that the proximity with the caucuses was coincidental, insisting that the ads were designed to "educate the public" about the governor's recent state of the state and budget messages. Dukakis strategists matter-of-factly cite direct attacks on their candidate and no explicit mention of either of the speeches.

Regardless of their motivation, the ads give an indication of the tack King's campaign will take in the future. It seems he will contrast his governorship with that of Dukakis, taking credit for many of the improvements in the economic climate. The 60-second radio ad cites lower unemployment, lower taxes and higher per capita income. "The governor has not so good a job of educating," says Sean G. Mullin, King's field coordinator.

Most of the ads have focused on an issue King will likely hammer away at over the next seven months: taxes. The messages doggedly blame Dukakis for a 7.5 percent rise in income taxes during his administration, labelling it "the Dukakis surtax."

In contrast, Dukakis, a former Kennedy School of Government lecturer, has spent only $15,000 in recent weeks for radio ads, mostly responding to King's tax attacks. For example: "Nineteen-seventy-nine--no objection to the surtax by Ed King. Nineteen-eighty-still no objection. Nineteen-eighty-one--King still thinks the surtax is just fine. Those years all have one thing in common. They're not election years."

Though Dukakis has described his campaign as a "low-budget, grassroots" affair, some have criticized him for not thoroughly presenting his stand on major issues. Emphasizing his image as a younger, more charismatic leader, Dukakis has broadcast ads that offer no defense, no denial, just ridicule of King.

Lt. Gov. Thomas P. O'Neill III, the third candidate, running well behind Dukakis and King, has not run a radio or television advertisement since last October. With the lowest budget and the poorest showing in the caucuses, he seems more worried about establishing an organization than trying to grab wide spread support.

"Dukakis has run for governor twice already: King is the incumbent," explains, arguing that the lieutenant governor is not hopelessly behind. "The Democratic National Committee found that 80 percent of the votes do not make up their minds until the last weeks before the election," he added.