Franken's first ads are up, and one is quite good, and the other a bit worse. First, here's an ad with Franken's old teacher, which works pretty well:
It works well, I think, because it nods in the direction of the fact that hey, Al Franken is running for Senate, and that's kinda weird. So it's a bit funny, and it uses that bit of funny to also make the serious case for Franken's candidacy. The second ad, by contrast, is a standard issue, "I'm-fighting-for-you" ad, and it doesn't really give a nod to who Al Franken is, and so it's a bit jarring. It's embedded after the jump. But here's the bigger question: You Minnesota readers, tell me, does this guy have a shot?