A new Jason Emert ad in the 2nd Congressional GOP Primary race is drawing some national attention, but its because of the sports reference in the ad rather than policy. The Emert spot takes a shot at former UT football coach Butch Jones, who once made a comment that he would rebuild the football program “brick by brick.”
“Unlike Butch Jones, when I say I’m going to do something, I actually mean it,” Emert says in the ad. But trolling Jones, who once appeared in a Farm Bureau commercial building a brick mailbox, doesn’t end there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgoGEDW9Z8g
In his commercial, which is virtually identical to the Farm Bureau ad featuring Jones, Emert is literally building a brick wall to demonstrate his support for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. At the end Emert looks at his wall and says: “Brick by brick.”
While Jones isn’t on the ballot in August, Emert clearly hopes the creative ad will draw attention to his campaign. Recent polls indicate that Emert is lagging well behind two of his competitors for the vacancy created by the retirement of Congressman Jimmy Duncan. Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and State Representative Jimmy Matlock are locked in a heated primary battle for the seat. Matlock has been criticized for some of his attack ads and campaign tactics in recent weeks.
