A new ad in Arizona attacks Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Ducey, the former CEO of Cold Stone, for causing a group of the chain's franchise owners to "lose everything." However, all the victims presented in the spot are just stock photos from Getty Images.
The misleading ad by Restore Arizona’s Future PAC was paid for with "major funding" from the Democratic Governors Association (DGA).
The ad begins with four forlorn faces of former Cold Stone franchise owners who "lost everything" because of Ducey’s "dishonest business practices."
The hitch is that in reality nobody presented in the ad ever owned a Cold Stone franchise or lost anything because of Ducey.
The ad's first person image, presented with the caption, "What if you lost everything?" was found to be a generic "Sad Woman" on Getty. The other woman presented in the ad also is a Getty "Sad Woman."
The group had many options, as Getty provides 795 pages of "Sad Woman" stock photos.
Former Cold Stone franchisee number two is actually Getty’s "Mature Man." The ad used a man from Getty’s "Why Series" as Ducey’s final victim.
"Ducey made a fortune, they lost everything," says the ad.
This is the first ad posted to Restore Arizona’s Future YouTube page. The group registered in Arizona as an independent expenditures (IE) group in January 2014.
The ad notes that the funding of the ad was provided by the DGA, but the DGA's deputy communications director said it had no information on the ad because it is not allowed to have "any coordination" with IE groups.
Restore Arizona’s Future PAC could not be reached for comment.