Jesse Ventura, the vibrant larger than life independent gubernatorial candidate for governor of Minnesota in 1998 was seen as an afterthought, a "spoiler" candidate along for the ride in the midst of a heated campaign. Little did people know, Jesse would become a political legend, getting there with the help of North Woods Advertising.

Our breaktrhough creative and effective media strategy paid off as Jesse went on to win the governorship despite being outspent by our opponents in paid media by a ratio of 16 to 1.

North Woods also was successful in creating a market demand for products and merchandise with Ventura’s name and image on them, whose proceeds went to benefit Minnesota local charities and social organizations.

Considered by most political observers to be the biggest political upset of the 20th century. Ventura carried every demographic in the state except adults over 55 and people making $100,000 + a year and turned out a greater percentage of voters than any other election.

Jewish-cowboy/singer-turned-author Kinky Friedman's insurgent run for governor of Texas was the talk of the country for much of 2005-2006.

As an independent, Kinky had to navigate Texas' insanely complicated ballot access laws and petition his way onto the ballot. Our innovative "KinkyToons" made the case for Kinky's candidacy, helped explain the ballot process, and attracted hundreds of campaign interns and volunteers.

Kinky's campaign quickly went viral, with more than 20,000 friends on Facebook and 34,000 supporters on MySpace.  These supporters helped Kinky collect over 130,000 certified signatures, contributed $2 million to the campaign over the internet, and bought more than $2 million of campaign merchandise from the website.  More than 70% of Kinky's donors were political newcomers who had not contributed to any Texas candidates in the past five years.  

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Internet presence couldn't save Kinky's campaign

Chris Daggett, a former regional administrator of the EPA, brought North Woods into the fold in his run for Governor of New Jersey as an independent in 2009.

Although Daggett was able to qualify for public matching funds, the campaign coffers were a lot thinner than the competition's, be it from personal wealth or party support. Chris Christie, the Republican candidate, outspent Daggett by more than six to one, while the Deomcratic incumbent candidate Jon Corzine managed to outspend Daggett at a rate of almost sixteen to one.

North Woods was able to efficiently place campaign spots in two of the most expensive television markets in the country while generating quality earned media as a result of eye-catching creative.

Despite the severe financial disadvantages posed, Daggett was seen as a legitimate and viable statewide candidate, polling as high as 20% in statewide opinion polls in October. In fact, the state's largest newspaper, the New Jersey Star-Ledger, perferred Daggett over the other two party candidates, endorsing him roughly a month before the election.