Vermont Senate candidate is on a cow

Look down. Back up. Where are you? You’re watching Daniel Freilich, a challenger to Senator Patrick Leahy in the Vermont Democratic primary next week, harness the power of Youtube with a campaign ad parody of this year’s now legendary Old Spice Man commercial.

Freilich, a U.S. Navy Reserve physician, opens the ad dressed in a white coat and clutching what appears to be a copy of Vermont Life with Leahy on the cover that he tosses aside to jog in front of a potpourri of blurry, green-screened Vermont vistas. In the fast-paced, lighthearted effort, he manages to pledge to serve only two terms (“because I am not a career politician”) and assert that he has spent no special interest money in his campaign.

With 19,390 views since it was posted Friday, the ad has made the rounds on prominent politics and pop culture blogs and garnered some criticism for its poor production values and a performance that falls somewhat short of the original. (In the words of the Old Spice Man himself: “Sadly, he isn’t me.")