Ben Goddard (born 1943 in Idaho) is a founding partner of the public affairs firm Goddard Claussen.[1] He is widely regarded as the godfather of issue advocacy advertising and is credited with creating the genre of national issue advocacy advertising with the Harry & Louise campaign in the early 1990s.[2]
He is the Chairman of the International Association of Political Consultants,[3] and is a featured columnist in The Hill newspaper.[4] Titled “On Message,” his column reviews and comments on campaign message and strategy.[5]
Notable Goddard campaigns include Harry & Louise, the Pacific Life Wales, and Prop 187 in California. According to the Goddard Claussen website,[6] Goddard has received dozens of awards for creativity, including a television Emmy, and his commercials are part of the Smithsonian Institution permanent collection.[7]
In the 1970s and '80s Goddard served as a media consultant to candidates for state and national office including Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart, Mo Udall and Bruce Babbitt.[7]
In addition to his work in the United States, Goddard also created the first political advertising in the Soviet Union to preserve Boris Yeltsin's free-market reforms.[2]