McCain Uses Dracula Ad to Mock Opponent Hayworth

(April 13) -- Sen. John McCain has staked his claim to honors for weirdest commercial of the campaign season. But he has some competition.

The Arizona Republican's latest ad in his primary race against J.D. Hayworth includes the claim that the challenger believes "Dracula is real" -- and uses some footage from the classic Bela Lugosi film to drive home the point. The video also suggests Hayworth thinks the president was born in Kenya and that allowing gay marriage could lead to man-horse nuptials. For good measure, it winds up with clips from "Mars Attacks!" for a shot at Hayworth on national security.
The Dracula bit stems from a comment former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, a McCain supporter, made to Newsweek. "The idea that a man like John McCain has to deal with a bozo like J.D. Hayworth is really offensive. ... Someone needs to drive a wooden stake through this guy's heart," Woods said.

Hayworth -- who apparently brushed off the bozo part -- complained that the stake reference was a "death threat" and demanded an apology. His critics say that showed Hayworth has no sense of humor.

This is the latest example of how it's becoming harder to tell the difference between political ads and parodies. Some commentators are calling McCain's spot the new "Demon Sheep" ad. That one, unleashed in February by Carly Fiorina, raised the bar for campaign commercial craziness. It mixed Monty Python-esque animation with video of a guy disguised in what looks like a fleece rug crawling around in a field of sheep. It's meant to portray Fiorina's GOP primary opponent, Tom Campbell, as a phony fiscal conservative -- a wolf in sheep's clothing, complete with sinister red eyes glowing behind his low-budget animal mask. (Brace yourself at the 2:25 mark in the following video.)
"Demon Sheep" creator Fred Davis followed up with another ad for Fiorina last month. It targeted the incumbent in the California Senate contest, Democrat Barbara Boxer. To cast her as a liberal elitist with a swelled head, Davis used computer magic to turn Boxer's head into a blimp that breaks through the Capitol dome and floats westward, casting a menacing shadow over Americans on the way to California. Davis' seven-minute extravaganza is officially titled "Hot Air: The Movie," but the Los Angeles Times' Mark Z. Barabak dubbed it "Fred's Zeppelin."
Last week's most-talked about commercial -- the one with Tiger Woods staring into the camera while his dead father talks about responsibility -- might owe a debt to a bizarre commercial from the 2008 presidential campaign. Wonkette's Jim Newell pointed out the similarity between the new Nike ad and Mike Gravel's "Rock" -- in which the long-shot Democratic presidential candidate stood motionless, gazing into the lens, for a full minute, then turned, picked up a rock and tossed it into a lake -- and walked off into the distance for another two minutes. All without a word being spoken.
The silent treatment was also part of what's among one of the craziest political ads of all time. Alaska's Diane Benson, running for U.S. House two years ago, put out a 30-second spot that showed her romping with her dogs while whimsical music played in the background. It ended with Benson scooping dog poop into a bucket as a single word scrolled across the bottom of the screen: Experience.
Despite her unique commercial pitch, the voters of Alaska decided not to send Benson to clean up the mess in Washington.