McCain attracts larger YouTube audience than Obama

McCain released a chain of blunt yet entertaining attack ads and Web videos which mock rival candidate, Senator Barack Obama, along with the press. Such videos have pushed his YouTube channel to the fifth most watched on the site this week.

McCain has beat Obama's channel for eight straight days and 12 of the past 14 days, in a signal he intends to compete for the YouTube vote.

This is a giant reversal as Obama had been quadrupling McCain's YouTube views and beat him every day since February, according to TubeMogul, which tracks online video viewing.

The McCain camp said its recent ads were intended to bring some humor in the campaign, the "Celebrity" ad compared Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears , and "The One" Web ad mocked the adulation from Obama supporters and compares the Democrat to Moses as he parts the Red Sea.

"I want to know who he hired. They went from recycling their TV ads to like putting out these witty shorts," said David Burch, marketing manager for TubeMogul, according to The Washington Times.

Obama, however, leads in terms of election candidates YouTube channel views, with 51 million all-time video views. In second place is Texas Republican, Ron Paul, with 15.3 million views and McCain is third with 8.3 million views.