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It’s the political season, and that means the airwaves are overrun with slick, sassy, sometimes humorous and increasingly nasty campaign ads. It’s hard to avoid them if you don’t have TiVo, and while they may be driving you crazy, consider that they’re the bread and butter of local TV stations for the year.

They’re also big business for the political consultants who produce them, though perhaps surprisingly only one Baton Rouge consultant has a dog in the big hunt. That’s George Kennedy, who’s handling Democrat Foster Campbell’s campaign and has a big job on his hands. So far, Campbell is trailing the pack both in the polls and in spending. He has shelled out just $600,000 so far on two TV spots currently airing, though two others are in production.

While that’s a relative pittance, Campbell’s ads are sharp and well produced. The public service commissioner comes across as a passionate—almost angry—populist, much like Buddy Roemer in 1987. Whether it’s enough to help him overcome long odds to make it into the runoff is another story, but Kennedy will likely have at least a couple of victories to celebrate election night. His other clients this season include Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, agriculture commissioner candidate Wayne Carter, attorney general hopeful Buddy Caldwell and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff candidate Sid Gautreaux.

While no other Baton Rouge consultants are handling gubernatorial candidates, independent businessman John Georges is keeping his business in-state. He’s hired veteran New Orleans consultant Ray Teddlie to produce commercials that depict him as a family man and a newcomer to the political establishment. Both may be true, but Georges—a wealthy businessman—has the kind of deep pockets that open political doors. He’s spent some $2 million on media to date, much of it his own money.

Republican Walter Boasso has farmed out his media work to an out-of-state operation. Philadelphia-based Shorr Johnson Magnus is the mastermind behind the memorable ads that deftly mock front-runner Bobby Jindal as a cardboard cutout. The campaign has so far spent more than $2 million on media buys, though recently the tone of the commercials has become more serious. Campaign manager Jay Howser says the change was planned all along.

Meanwhile, Jindal is sticking with the hot-shot D.C.-area firm On Message that oversaw the Republican party’s $20 million spending plan to re-elect President Bush in 2004. Jindal has been spending big with the firm as well, paying it nearly $250,000 in the last reporting period alone. He’s been spending even bigger in north Louisiana, where he had trouble last time he ran for governor. Between July and September, he spent more than $600,000 on TV and radio in Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria, twice as much as he spent in the rest of the state.

Jindal has also had some help from a local expert with a good track record. Roy Fletcher, who convinced the electorate in 1997 that millionaire businessman and politician Mike Foster was just a good ol’ boy in a hunting cap, is producing pro-Jindal spots for the state GOP.

Picks and PANs

With so much spending on upcoming races, one media conglomerate has hit upon a way to capitalize on all the spending—and not everyone in the advertising world is happy about it. Clear Channel Communications, which owns 13 stations in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, is urging its political advertisers to buy a package of ads on multiple stations instead of just one or two.

They call the packages PANs, political advertising networks, and have different price points. A 60-second spot during morning drive on the Gold PAN, for instance, costs a pricey $500. But then, that buys time on WJBO, WYNK and KRVE, the three most desired stations in the Clear Channel family.

Some advertisers grumble they feel strong-armed into buying more air time than they need—especially since political radio spots are so narrowly targeted to specific demographic groups. But Clear Channel says advertisers still have the option to buy on single stations if they want.

“This was just faster and easier and was done in response to something every political campaign told us they wanted,” says Dick Lewis, Clear Channel’s regional vice president for Louisiana.