Uplifting Ad Watch '06: 'Steele's Really Cute Momma'

First, Michael Steele pulls out puppies. Now, his adorable momma. A rough-and-tumble politician, this guy is.

But seriously, a lot of Democrats have accused Steele's ads of being shallow. Here's the thing. I think they're working. They're simple, they're personable, and they don't feel or look like business as usual. In fact, this is one of Steele's more conventional-looking ads compared to his usual visually spare set.

The reason I have a feeling these ads are having more impact than the Dem ad-snobs might think is because some friends of mine in Maryland called me a month or two ago after they first saw the puppy ad. It's a couple. They're likely voters. One is a politically active libertarian who's very unhappy with the Republican Party, and is willing to vote either way. The other is an apolitical, uninvolved voter who consistently votes Democrat. The apolitical one called me to ask who the heck this Steele guy with the puppy commercial was.

Frankly, I had to check the temperature in Hell when she called up to talk politics. That has never happened before. Her husband was yelling in the background, "we love this guy! This guy is great!"

He was reaching unlikely people very early on, in my view. Whether or not they warmed up to him or cooled off as they learned more, I don't know. I'll have to check, but it seems these ads are serving him well. Steele remains down by about 8 in the poll average, but has polled in a dead heat with Cardin in the past.