Anti-Whitman group introduces the Meg-a-Tar

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This election season may be the year of the viral political ad. First it was Demon Sheep. Then it was the Barbara Boxer blimp. Now, it’s Meg-a-Tar.

A group set up to thwart Meg Whitman’s gubernatorial bid has launched a new video introducing a character that just may become a familiar figure, or figurine, in the 2010 campaign.

The ad itself is a bit, well, creepy, with an animated Meg Whitman -- a creation that the group calls ‘Meg-a-Tar’ -- talking about Whitman’s use of a private jet while at EBay. The ad is part of the group’s effort to paint Whitman as an out-of-touch elitist who is trying to ‘put a buy it now button’ on the governor’s race.

The new approach by Level the Playing Field 2010, a labor union-backed independent group hoping to help Jerry Brown become the state’s next governor, underscores the increasing difficulty of reaching voters through traditional means, in the era of TiVo and other DVR devices that allow viewers to skip campaign commercials.

It also shows the increased importance of the viral video -- videos that never make it to broadcast television, like the Demon Sheep ad, or that live only on the Internet, like the anti-Barbara Boxer ‘Hot Air’ video. Level the Playing Field plans to air the Meg-a-Tar ad with small, targeted buys on cable television across the state, but is hoping viral buzz will lead to more, and cheaper, exposure.

While not divulging details of the scope of the ad buy, Level the Playing Field’s Chris Lehane told the New York Times that the group spent about $30,000 to make the ad.

You can watch the ad below.

-- Anthony York