Click here to watch "Johnny's Mom."

The winter holiday season brought with it a wave of questionable holiday-themed campaign spots (subscription), and now at least one candidate is doing the same for Mother's Day. John McCain's camp announced today it would run a new spot this Sunday featuring the candidate's mother, Roberta, reminiscing about his birth and upbringing.

Over an unusually cheery soundtrack for a political advertisement, Roberta trades playful banter with her son and says "he'll make a wonderful president." By spotlighting McCain's 96-year-old mother, the campaign hopes to appeal to female voters, who polls show currently favor Barack Obama, while also reminding viewers concerned about his age that his mother is still sharp as she nears her centennial. The buy will be limited to cable channels that cater primarily to female audiences, such as Lifetime, Oxygen and the Hallmark Channel.

In a larger sense, the ad is of a piece with the campaign's strategy of using earned media to blunt the Democrats' fundraising advantage. Assuming the cutesy spot gets picked up on the Internet and cable news channels, the campaign could greatly amplify the reach of what is really a limited buy on a handful of niche channels.