• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 14, 2017

Hand it to John Oliver and HBOto help out our President -- especially in the age of one-to-one marketing.

Targeting one particular TV viewer can be challenging -- if not cost-prohibitive. But focusing on a powerful public official who has a vested interest in all things media —on a non-stop basis — you have a good audience — and a potential influencer of your message.

Hoping to explain to our just-elected leader about the ills of the new Republican-led health insurance plan -- by way of his Administration and the Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives -- Oliver’s HBO show, ”Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” bought a local cable TV commercial in the Washington, D.C. area to run on “Fox & Friends.”

Trump -- in battling with the media -- has publicly promoted Fox News “Fox & Friends,” one senses he is a regular watcher.

The commercial features a older cowboy with medical needs -- someone who might have voted for Trump. He talks about a catheter and the need to use it. But there are costs here, which the Affordable Care Act helps provide.

In the spot, he says: “If my premium goes up and subsidies go down, I’m going to pay more. That’s basic math there fella. That’s like replacing my catheter with a garden hose.”

Has Trump seen this commercial? We don’t know yet. We’re guessing President Trump has some time-shifting technology; fast-forwarding through commercials is still the rage. Maybe he’s a big user of TiVo and Twitter.

This activity goes both ways. Many TV commercials tout Trump’s agenda, including a new book about Trump’s plan to get rid of everything President Obama did, which has run on MSNBC.

Our President knows media, including how TV content is financially supported by advertising. After all, he remains an executive producer of a broadcast network TV show -- the first U.S. president to be an active executive producer of a broadcast network prime-time TV show.

We can only imagine if HBO was an ad-supported network, there might be a pro-Trump health care bill TV commercial on “Last Week Tonight.” No problem. Just make sure you have a good media plan, target your consumers well, and have a strong message.

A least it would be a bit longer than a tweet.