Alex Castellanos
Encyclopedia
Alejandro "Alex" Castellanos (born 1954) is a U.S. Republican Party political media consultant who specializes in television advertising, and was a top media adviser to Bush Cheney '04 as well as Mitt Romney
's presidential campaign
.
He is a partner in National Media, Inc. and has served as a media consultant in numerous presidential, senatorial, and gubernatorial elections both for campaigns and for outside political committees. In late 2008 he teamed with veteran Democratic strategist Steve McMahon to form Purple Strategies, a bipartisan public affairs firm.
Castellanos has also worked on issue advocacy campaigns for corporations and national associations. He has been a frequent guest on political shows.
, Cuba
, is fluent in Spanish and English. His parents, refugees who fled Castro’s Cuba in 1961, came to the U.S. with one suitcase, two children and eleven dollars. He spent the remainder of his childhood growing up with his parents Jose and Olga and his younger sister Laura Castellanos in the small town of Coats, NC. A former Morehead and National Merit Scholar at the University of North Carolina, Castellanos speaks frequently about politics and is a guest commentator on CNN. He has also been a guest on Meet the Press, Hardball, Crossfire as well as at numerous Universities including the United States Army Communication School. In 2008, Castellanos served as a Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics in the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Castellanos served as a key creative member to the Bush-Cheney 2004 election, producing many spots, such as the “Wolves” commercial that acquired much media attention. He has helped elect 9 U.S. Senators, 6 Governors, and enjoys over two decades of political consulting experience, both in the United States and abroad.
Castellanos has served as media consultant to seven U.S. Presidential campaigns, most recently serving as a volunteer on the John McCain for President Ad Council during his run for President. He has been credited with the discovery of the political "soccer mom
" and called "father of the attack ad.”
Fortune magazine singled out Mr. Castellanos as a “new style media master” and GQ magazine ranked him as one of the "Top 50 most powerful people in Washington."
in North Carolina
, Castellanos produced an advertisement for incumbent Republican Senator Jesse Helms
, who was then trailing Democratic challenger and Charlotte
mayor
Harvey Gantt
, an African-American. The ad shows the hands of a white man crumpling a job application rejection notice as a narrator intones, "You needed that job. But they had to give it to a minority." The ad then references Gantt's supposed support for racial quotas and Helms's opposition. No other part of the actor's body is shown.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
, an expert on political communications, has written on the subliminal messages of racial fear encoded into this advertisement. She believes that the signals may include a screen transition showing the hand crumpling the image of Gantt's head and a black mark on the rejection notice in the shape of a hand holding a handgun.
attempting to discredit the prescription drug plan policy offered by U.S. Democratic Party presidential nominee and then-Vice President
Al Gore
. Alongside images of Gore, the ad showed the word "RATS" for a split second, before the complete word "bureaucrats" appeared on-screen. During the ensuing uproar, Castellanos claimed that the inclusion was "purely accidental." Psychologists suggest that such brief messages can be processed by the brain but at an unconscious or subliminal level.
by focusing on the separating factor of "intelligence."
Prior to joining the Romney campaign, it had been reported that Castellanos had met with Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson.
with the tagline "We will get this done. We will make this right" in which BP Chairman Tony Hayward
apologizes for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
and promises to take corrective action. The campaign reportedly had a $50 million budget.
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
's presidential campaign
Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008
Mitt Romney was a Republican Party primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election. On January 3, 2007, two days before he stepped down as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission...
.
He is a partner in National Media, Inc. and has served as a media consultant in numerous presidential, senatorial, and gubernatorial elections both for campaigns and for outside political committees. In late 2008 he teamed with veteran Democratic strategist Steve McMahon to form Purple Strategies, a bipartisan public affairs firm.
Castellanos has also worked on issue advocacy campaigns for corporations and national associations. He has been a frequent guest on political shows.
Personal background
Castellanos, a native of HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, is fluent in Spanish and English. His parents, refugees who fled Castro’s Cuba in 1961, came to the U.S. with one suitcase, two children and eleven dollars. He spent the remainder of his childhood growing up with his parents Jose and Olga and his younger sister Laura Castellanos in the small town of Coats, NC. A former Morehead and National Merit Scholar at the University of North Carolina, Castellanos speaks frequently about politics and is a guest commentator on CNN. He has also been a guest on Meet the Press, Hardball, Crossfire as well as at numerous Universities including the United States Army Communication School. In 2008, Castellanos served as a Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics in the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Castellanos served as a key creative member to the Bush-Cheney 2004 election, producing many spots, such as the “Wolves” commercial that acquired much media attention. He has helped elect 9 U.S. Senators, 6 Governors, and enjoys over two decades of political consulting experience, both in the United States and abroad.
Castellanos has served as media consultant to seven U.S. Presidential campaigns, most recently serving as a volunteer on the John McCain for President Ad Council during his run for President. He has been credited with the discovery of the political "soccer mom
Soccer mom
The phrase soccer mom broadly refers to a middle-class suburban woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to their sporting events or other activities. Indices of American magazines and newspapers show relatively little usage of the term until a 1995...
" and called "father of the attack ad.”
Fortune magazine singled out Mr. Castellanos as a “new style media master” and GQ magazine ranked him as one of the "Top 50 most powerful people in Washington."
1990 "White Hands" advertisement
Near the end of the 1990 U.S. Senate raceUnited States Senate elections, 1990
Elections to one-third of the seats in the United States Senate were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republicans. This was in keeping with the trend that the party of the President often loses seats in a midterm...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Castellanos produced an advertisement for incumbent Republican Senator Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, who was then trailing Democratic challenger and Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Harvey Gantt
Harvey Gantt
Harvey Bernard Gantt is an American architect and Democratic politician active in North Carolina. He was Mayor of Charlotte from 1983 to 1987, and ran twice for the United States Senate....
, an African-American. The ad shows the hands of a white man crumpling a job application rejection notice as a narrator intones, "You needed that job. But they had to give it to a minority." The ad then references Gantt's supposed support for racial quotas and Helms's opposition. No other part of the actor's body is shown.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Kathleen Hall Jamieson is an American Professor of Communication and the director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania...
, an expert on political communications, has written on the subliminal messages of racial fear encoded into this advertisement. She believes that the signals may include a screen transition showing the hand crumpling the image of Gantt's head and a black mark on the rejection notice in the shape of a hand holding a handgun.
2000 "Rats" advertisement
During the heated 2000 U.S. presidential campaign season, Castellanos produced an ad for the Republican National CommitteeRepublican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
attempting to discredit the prescription drug plan policy offered by U.S. Democratic Party presidential nominee and then-Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
. Alongside images of Gore, the ad showed the word "RATS" for a split second, before the complete word "bureaucrats" appeared on-screen. During the ensuing uproar, Castellanos claimed that the inclusion was "purely accidental." Psychologists suggest that such brief messages can be processed by the brain but at an unconscious or subliminal level.
2008 Romney campaign
In late February 2007, the Boston Globe obtained a leaked copy of an internal Romney campaign document describing the campaign's plan to win the Republican nomination. That document, produced by Castellanos, drew attention by implying the campaign's poor view of the sitting president. Specifically, the document advised that that Romney should create distance between himself and President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
by focusing on the separating factor of "intelligence."
Prior to joining the Romney campaign, it had been reported that Castellanos had met with Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson.
2010 BP campaign
In June 2010 Purple Strategies was reported to have been behind a television campaign for BPBP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
with the tagline "We will get this done. We will make this right" in which BP Chairman Tony Hayward
Tony Hayward
Anthony Bryan "Tony" Hayward is a British businessman, the former chief executive of oil and energy company BP. He replaced John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley on 1 May 2007. His tenure ended on 1 October 2010 in large part due to the circumstances of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill...
apologizes for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
and promises to take corrective action. The campaign reportedly had a $50 million budget.