Crazy campaign season leads to laugh-out-loud ads

Campaign ads are generally an excuse to change the channel ‒ something many Americans wish they could do for this entire election. Some videos, though, are worth the cost of admission in terms of ad buys… even if they provoke more laughs than votes.

Sometimes the best ads are low-budget productions for minor offices, while others may as well be mini-movies for presidential candidates. Ads that feature a candidate’s family are generally cheesy and clichéd, but a precious few this election cycle have broken that mold. When a rival slips up on the campaign trail, it’s always an opportunity ‒ look at just about every one of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s ads during the general election. While that tactic may be powerful, it doesn’t usually mean the result is funny ‒ unless the misstep is something straight out of a vaudeville act.

It takes a lot for a campaign ad to be both memorable and funny, but here are a few that meet both criteria.

In Texas, Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty’s best chance for reelection comes thanks to his wife, who hopes her husband’s constituents aren’t nearly as sick of him as she is…

When it comes to family in ads, the star isn’t necessarily related to the candidate. For Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat in New Jersey running for Congress, a pink-haired, foul-mouthed grandma steals the show with some digs at the incumbent, Republican Representative Scott Garrett.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump used the “words” of a different kind of grandma for his funniest ad: He let Clinton (and some RT footage) do the talking for him.

Presidential endorsements have been pretty one-sided this election season, with all living previous presidents saying they’ll vote for Clinton. Dead ones, however, are a different story, as “Dead Abe Lincoln” would rather have someone shoot him (“Too soon?” he asks) than support Clinton or Trump.

Former Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz may know how Dead Abe Lincoln feels. Perhaps if more people had seen his movie-quality ads against Clinton, he’d be the GOP nominee instead of Trump. Cruz may not have won the White House, but if there were an award show for best campaign ad, the senator from Texas would sweep all the categories.

He used his family…

… some “Clinton” being Clinton…

… and a movie parody.