Short campaign starts with long ad

Posted at 2:16 PM on July 17, 2008 by Tim Pugmire

Jack Uldrich, an Independence Party candidate for U.S. Senate, is counting on a unique Internet video to create a buzz about his campaign and bring in donations.

Uldrich unveiled the political ad called "Reverse Your Thinking" today, two days after filing as a candidate for the seat now held by incumbent Republican Norm Coleman. In the ad, Uldrich lays out a series of negative observations about key issues. Halfway through, he reverses course and repeats the list with an upbeat, positive message. With a running time of nearly 3 minutes, Uldrich admits the ad is risky.

"The only way I'm going to win this thing is to be unconventional," Uldrich said. "But I think that people are going to give it three minutes. And if they don't I can't do anything about that. Can my political opponents use snippets of that to portray me in a different light? Absolutely. But I have to do things differently."

Uldrich says his ad is patterned after a popular YouTube video called "Lost Generation." Seven Independence Party candidates are running for U.S. Senate in the September 9th primary.

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