Some cartoons nail it. While others don't. In 2004 we saw the first powerful use of campaign cartoon animation with JibJab's "This Land" which lampooned both Bush and Kerry.

Earlier this week, Nyc Democratic Mayoral Candidate Freddy Ferrer launched a [l:http://images1.istandfor.com/images/FE/chain182siteType8/site141/client/buddies.mov|cartoon ad]. It is one of the ones that doesn't work. This ad (it is an ad that uses animation rather than a purely funny animation that gets a point across) is just not funny. It is cutesy, and actually smudges the details a little a bit.

Jason Mogus (a Canadian!) just pointed a few ads is my direction that are showing up on both sides of the California Special Election.
[l:http://www.arnoldsneighborhood.com|"Arnold's Neighborhood"] Is pretty funny. It nails the genre if you ask me. It might not be up to the JobJab This Land spot, but I laughed out loud. What makes it good? Uses a familiar song and familiar "characters", doesn't employ an announcer (when was the last time you saw a cartoon with an announcer who could have been selling soap, cars, or politicians?), and it enforces people's perceptions not only of the explicit target (Arnold) but also other "meanies" that the viewers like to rip on. The goal is to raise money and energise the base.

Ferrer's spot doesn't really accomplish any of it.
Here is a better story arc for an anti Bloomberg cartoon:
Bloomberg rolling out the red carpet for a parade of "evil" republicans, perhaps while singing "be my guest, be my gues..." or some parody of "New York, New York". THen mike jet sets around the globe wooing the olympics. While fire men pack their bags and nail plywood over windows of firehouses and hang for sale signs. Bloomberg sings lyrics about glob trotting, stadium building and closing firehouses.

California's cartoons aren't all great, this one [l:http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=bv5gqpbab.0.lfofaqbab.5dx5jdbab.11664&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.electionwatchdog.org| from ElectionWatchdog.org] isn's so great, (I didn't laugh) but at least it gets a clear point across.