Call it capitalizing on democracy or jumping on the political bandwagon - marketers both big and small are delivering a ballot-full of clever and sometimes unabashedly lame advertising pitches that ride on the coattails of the presidential campaign.

For Chick-Fil-A Inc.'s restaurants, for instance, the Cow Self Preservation Party ad campaign, prepared by Dallas-based Richards Group, urges diners to "Vote Chikin. Itz Not Right Wing or Left." And vowing to "put the party back into politics," Captain Morgan is running for president on a pro-rum platform designed by Grey Advertising Inc. "I think anytime you try and spoof politics, it works," says real-life political strategist James Carville, who was hired by Seagram Co.'s Captain Morgan rum to help promote the irreverent pirate's candidacy.

Here are some of the other attempts at election parody that made it out of marketers' heads and onto TV airwaves, billboards, magazines and Web sites.

Indecision 2000: A TV ad currently running for Mars Inc.'s M&M/Mars unit takes its Snicker's candy bar slogan of "Not going anywhere" into the voting booth with spoofs on both George W. Bush and Al Gore. "Pssst, vote for me, my dad was president," a cartoon elephant quips while sitting on the shoulders of an undecided voter.

"Big deal. My dad was a senator," an animated donkey snaps back, later boasting that he "invented the Internet" and quipping: "Kiss me, I'm on TV."The ad by Omnicom Group's BBDO in New York grew out of discussions about situations in which people have a hard time making decisions, says BBDO creative director Charlie Miesmer, who oversaw the ad's creation and also the voice of the donkey. "As usual, the candidates in this election are so flawed we thought, `Aha, how about doing something on those two guys?'"Homespun human resources: For days, a huge billboard featuring a smiling picture of Bush paired with the words "Gore 2000" loomed inexplicably along Interstate 485 in Charlotte, N.C. Finally, John Boone and David Oakley, co-founders of the newly formed Boone Oakley advertising agency in Charlotte, let the cat out of the bag Monday with a banner appearing over the botched billboard that read: "Today's job opening: proofreader. 123hire.com."

"Our client doesn't have as big a budget as some of their competitors, so what we tried to do was out-smart them rather than out-spend them," Mr. Boone said.

Dirty laundry: A new Web game by Unilever and the Comedy Central cable-TV station offers surfers a chance to vent their frustrations by bonking interactive presidential candidates on the head. Using a mouse-controlled container of Unilever's Wisk laundry detergent, participants earn points for "cleaning up" mud-covered Bush and Gore heads as they pop in and out of washing machines. "We wanted the candidates and the people to know that Wisk is committed to keeping this election a clean one," says Carlos Ortiz-Valero, brand manager for Wisk.

Voting for Vegas: Four TV spots for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority feature the Freedom Party campaign of fake presidential candidate Brock Wilder, who declares, "You've heard the other parties talk about their plans for America...But if you're anything like me, you couldn't care less." He urges viewers to "start their own party" with a visit to Las Vegas. The ad was created by Las Vegas-based ad agency R&R Partners.

Still running: He's baaaack. Just when you thought you'd never see the annoying Energizer bunny again, the pink and white creature is re-energized for the political season with help from ad agency TBWA/Chiat/Day in New York, a division of Omnicom Group. In the TV ad, all is going well with fake presidential candidate Bob Fremgen as he pushes a child on a swing. "Bob Fremgen, no candidate cares more about our kids," the announcer gushes.

Suddenly, kid-caring Bob is distracted by thumping from the drum-toting fur ball. When Bob looks over at the bunny he forgets about the swinging kid, who knocks him over. "Since we hadn't used the parody idea in a while, we thought it was time to remind people that the bunny's still going," say Jeff Ziminski, director of US marketing for Energizer Holdings Inc.'s Energizer brand.

Where's the jerky?: Even grandmothers are getting into the political pitch game. Nothing explains 67-year-old entrepreneur Gloria Magidson's product better than the label on the small brown paper bag that holds it. "Bush Jerky. Feed a jerk to your dog. All dogs love a bush. We are 1 in jerks & we can prove it." Ms. Magidson, who sells her jerky bags online at www.politicalpuns.com for $2.99 a pop, says she is not being paid by the Democratic National Committee. She mounted her own media campaign by mailing the jerky to national newspapers and talk-show hosts. (Oprah and Rosie responded with thank-you notes.)

Party animals: There's also no shortage of companies tapping into the presidential polling craze to boost their Web traffic. At www.petsuppliesplus.com, visitors can cast their votes for president "from a pet perspective." Voters here say the creature that best represents the personality of Mr. Bush is a dog. Mr. Gore? A fish. No. 2 for both: a reptile.

-- The Wall Street Journal