Jay Dardenne has made his first statewide air buy. The Dardenne campaign was apparently waiting until after Labor Day to go up because they believe that only now are most Louisianians starting to pay attention.

The ad tries to portray Dardenne as a rockstar. It has him on stage in blue jeans and standing on stage in a packed arena. Dardenne has been trying to go after the “creative” vote and the entertainment industry in this state.

The narration is a bunch of veiled shots at David Vitter. However, the ad does not attack him by name so much as it does build Dardenne up as his foil. It points out that Dardenne isn’t a “Washington politician” who uses “partisan politics” to drive a wedge between us. It also touts that Dardenne has had 25 years of public service “without a hint of scandal.”

The narration was skillfully done. It draws a contrast with David Vitter and reminds conservative leaning voters who are still hesitant about him that there is an alternative. At the same time, it’s not so over the top negative that it turns people off.

Some might ask why Dardenne didn’t attack Scott Angelle. After all, he not only has to weaken Vitter, but beat out Angelle for his place in the runoff. Well I don’t think Dardenne has to hit Angelle right now. He still has plenty of time for that.

All in all, a pretty good ad from Team Dardenne, although I’m not a big fan of the rockstar theme.