Fred Davis III
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Fred Newton Davis III (born ) is an American Republican Party strategy and media consultant who is best known for creating political campaign ads for candidates.


Early life

A native of
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
, Davis is the oldest of four children. Davis was 19 when his father died; he inherited his father's
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
firm and dropped out of college.


Career


Early career

In the late-1970s and early-1980s, Davis was majority partner in
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
, advertising agency Davis & Nauser (with partner Jeffery Nauser), where his client list included just one political candidate, his uncle, then Tulsa mayoral candidate and current U.S. Senator
Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe (; ; November 17, 1934 – July 9, 2024) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
. Davis left for California when Oklahoma's economy suffered from the collapse of the local oil industry. He founded and leads Strategic Perception, an advertising firm based in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
.


Political ads

He created the ''Celebrity'' ad for presidential candidate
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
and the ''
Demon Sheep The Demon Sheep or Demon Sheep ad is a political ad created as part of Carly Fiorina's 2010 campaign for the United States Senate. The ad gained international attention for its characterization of Fiorina's opponent as a wolf in sheep's clothing, ...
'' video for California Senate candidate
Carly Fiorina Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina (; ; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure as chief executive officer (CEO) of Hewlett-Packard (HP) from 1999 to 2005. Fiorina was the first woman to le ...
. Davis was described as "the most creative person in the business" by Republican media consultant
Mark McKinnon Mark David McKinnon (born May 5, 1955) is an American political advisor, reform advocate, media columnist, and television producer. He was the chief media advisor to five successful presidential primary and general election campaigns, and is a co ...
. His political clients have included President George W. Bush, presidential candidates
Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
,
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
, Jon Huntsman and
John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...
. Senators
Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe (; ; November 17, 1934 – July 9, 2024) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
,
John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. ...
,
Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...
,
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
,
Jeff Flake Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the United States House of Repr ...
,
Bob Corker Robert Phillips Corker Jr. (born August 24, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Rela ...
,
Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2025, a role he also held from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Re ...
,
David Perdue David Alfred Perdue Jr. (born December 10, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman serving as the List of ambassadors of the United States to China, United States ambassador to China since 2025. A member of the Republican Pa ...
,
John Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
,
Ben Sasse Benjamin Eric Sasse ( ; born February 22, 1972) is an American politician and higher education administrator. He represented Nebraska in the United States Senate from 2015 to 2023, resigning to become the 13th president of the University of Flo ...
,
Elizabeth Dole Mary Elizabeth Alexander Dole (née Hanford; born July 29, 1936)Mary Ella Cathey Hanford, "Asbury and Hanford Families: Newly Discovered Genealogical Information" ''The Historical Trail'' 33 (1996), pp. 44–45, 49. is an American attorney, auth ...
and
Paul Coverdell Paul Douglas Coverdell (January 20, 1939 – July 18, 2000) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 1993 until his death in 2000. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the director o ...
. Also governors
Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
,
Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. Snyder, who was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, ...
,
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
, and
Ernie Fletcher Ernest Lee Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician who was the List of governors of Kentucky, 60th governor of Kentucky from 2003 to 2007. He previously served three consecutive terms in the United States House ...
. His long-shot gubernatorial campaign for
Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
in Georgia featured a video of a giant rat rampaging Georgia. The rat portrayed the current, popular governor
Roy Barnes Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11, 1948)Cook, James F. (2005). ''The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th governo ...
. The video is credited as starting the movement toward viral videos in politics. Perdue beat Barnes handily, in spite of being outspent more than seven to one. A similar campaign for then-Governor
Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. Snyder, who was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, ...
of Michigan featured the unusual Davis slogan, "One Tough Nerd". The slogan caught on across the state helping propel the unknown Snyder past several statewide office holders into a primary win without a runoff, then the general election. He created a well-known 2010 ad for U.S. Senate candidate
Christine O'Donnell Christine Therese O'Donnell (born August 27, 1969) is an American conservative activist in the Tea Party movement best known for her 2010 campaign for the United States Senate seat from Delaware vacated by Joe Biden. O'Donnell was born in Phil ...
which featured her declaring she was "not a witch", in response to the re-airing of past statements made by her about her interactions with non-Christian religious practices. O'Donnell's witch statements had become a staple of late night comedy programs, including ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'', before Davis was hired. In February 2012, Davis authored a controversial ad for Representative
Pete Hoekstra Cornelis Piet Hoekstra (; born October 30, 1953) is a Dutch-American politician who is serving as Ambassador to Canada. Hoekstra had served as the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands from January 10, 2018, to January 17, 2021. A member ...
for his Senate campaign against incumbent Democrat
Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Stabenow ( ; née Greer; born April 29, 1950) is an American politician who served from 2001 to 2025 as a United States senator from Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, she was Michigan's first female U.S. senator. Before he ...
. The ad attacked Stabenow as Debbie "Spend-it-now" and showed an Asian woman riding a bicycle in a rice paddy thanking Stabenow (in broken English) for enriching the Chinese economy at the expense of the U.S. Republican strategist Mike Murphy tweeted that the ad was "really, really dumb", while Stabenow called it "shocking" and "nasty". Hoekstra denied that the ad was insensitive to Chinese Americans and was meant to focus on Stabenow's voting record. Within two weeks, the Hoekstra campaign removed the video from his campaign website and
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
account.


Obama document

In 2012, Davis' firm prepared a 57-page plan (commissioned by billionaire
Joe Ricketts John Joseph Ricketts (born July 16, 1941) is an American businessman. He is the founder, former CEO and former chairman of TD Ameritrade. He has an estimated net worth of US$4.1 billion as of 2024, according to ''Forbes''. He has pursued a variety ...
) for a $10 million campaign attempting to stop the re-election of President Obama. It partially recycled points of criticism against Obama from the 2008 presidential campaign, including his relationship with Obama's reverend,
Jeremiah Wright Jeremiah Alvesta Wright Jr. (born September 22, 1941) is a pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a congregation he led for 36 years, during which its membership grew to over 8,000 parishioners. Following retirement, his b ...
. The proposal, titled, ''The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good'', was initially approved by the Ricketts' Ending Spending Action Fund. A copy of the proposal document was released by a person unconnected to the ad campaign to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', after which it was roundly lambasted in external commentary. Ricketts then disavowed commissioning the plan. Although Davis' agency had gone at least as far as contacting
Larry Elder Laurence Allen Elder (born April 27, 1952) is an American conservative political commentator and talk radio host. He hosts ''The Larry Elder Show'', based in California. The show began as a local program on Los Angeles radio station KABC in 199 ...
to join the project, no ads were ever aired. Ricketts issued a statement disavowing the ad campaign hours after it was publicized by ''The New York Times''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Fred, Iii Living people American political consultants American advertising executives 1952 births Republicans (United States) Oklahoma Republicans California Republicans