The first TV ads from state-run health insurance exchanges created under The Affordable Health Care Act have launched in Oregon, Kentucky, Colorado and Connecticut. Several more states, including Hawaii and Vermont, are expected to launch ads in the coming weeks, ahead of the 10/1 start of open enrollment.
Creative includes a folk singer playing guitar in front of a mountain stream; a Disney-like animated video about how “a new day is coming”; an announcer talking about “change is here.”; and a woman jumping up and down in celebration in a baseball team locker room, reports Kaiser Health News.
The ads focus on how each state is about to launch new insurance options for consumers.
While the federal government has chosen to wait until September to launch television ads in 35 states where it will run or co-run exchanges, officials in several of the states operating their own exchanges say lack of consumer awareness has provided the impetus to start now.
The exchanges’ television advertising is just one part of a broader marketing campaign that also will include radio, newspaper and billboard advertising, as well as use of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
The ads largely appear targeted to people who have tried to get health insurance before but were turned back by high cost or denied because they had health problems. In the Kentucky ad, the narrator says, “for everyone who needs health insurance and has not been able to get it, a new day is about to arrive.”
In addition to seeing the exchange ads, consumers in some states may also encounter a different kind of Obamacare message — from conservative groups opposed to the health law. A campaign sponsored by Americans for Prosperity is scheduled to launch Tuesday in Ohio and Virginia.
See the Kaiser Health News story here.
Here are the health insurance exchange ads running in four states:
