What Political Ad Guys Do When They're Bored

ALBANY—Now that all the ballots are cast in the race to succeed Kirsten Gillibrand, this goes in the entertainment-only category.

But The Victory Group, which produced TV spots for Republican candidate Jim Tedisco as well as some longer Web-only videos, posted this spot on YouTube yesterday. (On April Fool's Day. The day after the election.)

It starts off mimicking an ad that actually aired, citing tax liens at a company Murphy is affiliated with. (The Times Union placed this attack in context here.) But then it depicts an AA-style meeting for those suffering from "non-filers syndrome": a reference, although the words "Charles O'Byrne" are never uttered, to the travails of the governor's former chief of staff.

Goodman said the ad was cut several weeks ago and sent to the campaign, which as far as I can tell never posted it. The actors are volunteers.

"In campaigns that are often very serious and focus attention to issues of importance to voters, it's nice to be able to have a little fun, especially using new media," said Adam Goodman, Victory's president. "It's a real issue at a time when you're talking about trillions of dollars in new taxes, to have issues paying your own, or in this case, your company's."