Attention-Grabbing Gimmicks for Dave Westlake

Apparently, Westlake has decided that "No Gimmicks" wasn't working for him (h/t, Zach W).

Since a little creativity makes a lengthy campaign more entertaining for all of us, here are some ideas that the Westlake campaign might want to consider:

1. Project Runway - Blaze Orange Edition. Get some students from Milwaukee Area Technical College's Fashion/Retail Marketing program to design your new campaign wardrobe. It will give the students some exposure and perhaps help them to find jobs in their field. Plus, it will show that you are prepared to reach out to urban youth. Get a kid with a digital camera to document the results and edit it into some campaign ads you can post on your website. If there is enough reality-show-style drama, the ads will draw attention to your site and maybe get some free media.

2. This Old House - T. Wall Edition. Find some T. Wall properties that have not held up well and chronicle the current owners' trials and tribulations with maintenance and repairs.

3. Print up a fake newspaper that says "Elvis Endorses Westlake" (after all, it helped Russ Feingold win a primary race against two better-known and better-funded opponents).

4. Foil a crime in a parking lot. Preferably one against an old woman and/or a young child. If you walk the streets while openly carrying a side arm, you may have the chance to not only be a hero, but stand up for our Van Hollen-endorsed 2nd Amendment rights as well. If you do it while wearing a blaze orange jumpsuit, however, you're likely to be shot by law enforcement, which probably won't help your campaign.

5. Create your own beer label. There are plenty of microbreweries that will contract-brew for another label. Years from now, those blaze orange Westlake Beer cans will be valuable collector's items. You don't have a license to sell beer, but you can try giving it away to supporters of legal drinking age. When the law steps in to tell you it's not legal (like that barber shop in Sun Prairie that was giving away beer to patrons a few years ago), you'll get lots of free publicity and goodwill.