Democrats not yet down for the count on YouTube

After a tough 2008, the Republicans came out swinging this year on YouTube. Almost every memorable campaign ad has come from the right side of the aisle - Carly Fiorina's gems, the John Dennis video likening Speaker Pelosi to the Wicked Witch, and of course the clever Frankenstein spoof that Mattie Fein put together. For several months, you may have wondered - where the heck are the Democrats, the party that brought propelled Obama to YouTube super-stardom just two years ago?

Apparently, they've been waiting until ten days before the election to start fighting back. In the past few days, the Dems have uploaded a few videos that are definitely worth taking a look at and there's a common theme to all of them - attack, attack, attack.

In this first video, from Filmmakers for Bill White, the Dems have re-learned a good lesson from 2008. If you can't make great campaign videos for yourself, lean on users and filmmakers to make them for you. There isn't much in here about Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Bill White but it succeeds in making his opponent, Rick Perry, look ludicrous against a catchy beat:



Next up is a more classic campaign ad from Democrat Jack Conway calling out opponent Rand Paul for a statement he made about his God being "Aqua Buddha". However, it's worth mentioning for two reasons. First, in just four days, the video has over 130,000 views on YouTube. Second, it has Democrats divided. Some are upset that Conway has gone after Paul for being a Buddhist, which suggests religious intolerance. Others maintain that it's a solid ad that pins Paul as an outsider in Kentucky. Watch the ad and decide for yourself:



This last ad comes from Democrat Jerry Brown in California and it's quite clever. The video positions Meg White side by side with current and unpopular Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and depicts her parroting exactly what he has said in the past. A smart alignment tactic...I wonder if they used Google's speech-to-text product to create it?

The demon sheep saga continues...

Earlier this year, we posted about California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina's "Demon Sheep" video, which is probably the most talked-about political ad of this election cycle. With over 750,000 views, it has already spawned several parodies from members of the YouTube community.

Now the Democrats are getting in on the action - the DSCC has just released "Demon Sheep: Mutton on the Lamb," in which they report that Fiorina is "fleecing" California. They also insert several other sheep-related puns, which you can see for yourself here:

Demon Sheep Invade California Senate Primary

We always encourage political campaigns to think outside the box when making YouTube videos - after all, if you want a viral video you have to think a bit differently (just ask Mike Gravel). Carly Fiorina, who is one of the Republican challengers to Barbara Boxer's Senate seat in California, has certainly taken that advice to heart...but did she go too far? You can decide for yourself - here's the latest video from the Fiorina campaign:



The video is certainly memorable and will likely see far more views than any scripted television PSA that they upload to their channel. But does the Fiorina camp want voters to think of men dressed in laser-eyed sheep costumes when they think of their candidate? Also, the man narrating the video has a decidedly East Coast accent - perhaps not the best way to court California voters?

Tom Campbell, Fiorina's opponent who is the subject of the ad, is already fundraising off of this video, saying, "Carly' Fiorina's new ad likens fiscal conservatives to sheep, and Tom to a demon sheep, without mentioning a single federal issue or proposing a single solution to America's economic woes," on this donation page.

Will Fiorina strike back against Campbell with another scintillating sheep video or will she perhaps take a safer, more Plouffian Powerpoint path moving forward?