Coors Pulls Ads Featuring Chairman

Coors Brewing Co. is yanking three televisions ads from the Colorado market that feature company chairman Peter Coors because he plans to run for the U.S. Senate.

The Golden-based company doesn't want to run afoul of federal communications law, which requires broadcasters to give equal time to opponents when a political candidate appears in a broadcast.

Campaign spokeswoman Cinamon Watson said Coors will officially announce his candidacy Tuesday. He will seek the Republican nomination for the seat being vacated by Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

Coors Brewing spokeswoman Laura Sankey said last week that a new ad campaign featuring the 57-year-old Coors will be pulled from the Colorado market.

The television ads, which aired nationally during the NCAA men's basketball tournament, features customers quizzing Coors, who responds from the side of a snow-covered mountain.

If the ads continued, Coors' opponents could request equal time but for a price, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Opponents would have to be offered the same opportunity to buy ads in a similar time slot for the same amount or less. The policy would not apply to Democrats for now, but only to Coors' primary opponents: Bob Schaffer and Dan O'Bryant.

The Federal Election Commission is still interpreting the meaning of the new McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, which covers commercial advertisements featuring candidates.

For now, the FEC has determined that such ads shouldn't run 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election. Coors could seek a more definitive ruling, an agency spokeswoman said.

Coors plans a two-day statewide tour when he announces his candidacy, Watson said. He will start in Denver and make stops in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Durango and Alamosa.