 Perot employed a massive marketing strategy , spending $ 34 @.@ 8 million to buy half hour and hour segments on major television networks , memorably using charts to illustrate his ideas for the economy . His first infomercial was aired on October 6 , and viewed by 16 @.@ 5 million people . He used two dozen charts and a metal pointer during the ad , explaining that " We got into trickle @-@ down economics and it didn 't trickle . " He later concluded that " our President blames Congress , Congress blames the President , the Democrats and Republicans blame each other . Nobody steps up to the plate and accepts responsibility for anything . " He spent a large portion of the infomercial speaking into the camera while sitting at a desk in front of a bookshelf . Political experts commented that the nature of the ad was groundbreaking . Two days later , an ad campaign was unveiled that included three new 60 @-@ second commercials to air on ESPN , CNN and five other cable networks . One commercial entitled " Red Flag " displayed a waving red flag with a background drum roll and the statement : " While the Cold War is ending another war is upon us . In this new war , the enemy is not the red flag of Communism , but the red ink of our national debt , the red tape of our government bureaucracy . The casualties of this war are counted in lost jobs and lost dreams . " A second half hour infomercial was shown on October 9 . 
