Taking a Stance

1994 Print Ad

This was our first ever partisan political ad. George Pataki was running for governor of New York against Mario Cuomo (Kenneth's father-in-law). After getting his first inside taste of the political system, Kenneth wanted to address the growing gap between reality and perception. He couldn't tell his father-in-law about it because he would have told him not to do it, and due to Campaign Finance laws, Kenneth personally paid to run it on a West Side Highway billboard and in the New York Times.

Was the ad appropriate and responsible? Kenneth admits he was compelled at the time more by emotion than intellect, and as it turned out, the ad was not a good business decision. Most New Yorkers disagreed with the statement because George Pataki won the election.

Kenneth has no regrets because to him the ad didn't feel political so much as it felt appropriate. George Pataki went on to serve three consecutive four-year terms as governor of New York.