Harry and Louise Return to Political Advertising

Couple Says Maybe It's Time for Congress to Look at Health Care

Posted by Ira Teinowitz on 08.19.08 @ 02:46 PM

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- Fourteen years after health insurance providers unleashed "Harry & Louise" to defeat then-First Lady Hillary Clinton's effort to remake health care, the couple is being re-enlisted for a new set of health-care-related spots.



This time, a 30-second ad, to run during the Democratic and Republican conventions on cable and Sunday talk shows, comes from health groups and hospitals and takes a far less confrontational tone. Indeed, the couple is now suggesting that maybe it is time for Congress to look at health care. The groups include the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association, Families USA and the National Federation of Independent Business.

In the ad, Harry and Louise discuss the importance of Congress making health care a top priority next year.

The original "Harry & Louise" spots, which ran in 1993 and 1994, were produced by Goddard Claussen for the Health Insurance Association of America and are credited for kicking off the subsequent boom in public-policy advertising. The ads were seen as evidence that pitching policy issues directly to voters can be as effective as lobbying Capitol Hill action. Goddard Claussen retained the intellectual rights to the couple.

Harry and Louise made one brief later appearance in an ad in 2002.

Ben Goddard, who produced the original ad, met the actress, whose real name is Louise Caire Clark, during the shooting of the original spots. The two subsequently were married.