In broadcast ads launching this week in the Washington metro area, the United Commercial Food Workers union urges viewers to take a critical look at the pork industry. The group isn't targeting the culture of earmark spending on Capitol Hill, but rather the treatment of workers at the Smithfield Packing plant in North Carolina, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.

In one of the spots, a former pig herder tells of being trampled by hogs at Smithfield's plant, the largest meat-processing plant in the world. "Don't buy Smithfield pork; it's packaged with abuse," an annoucer warns. The union hopes that the ads will lead people to think about what brand of pork they buy, but the company calls the ad blitz "desperate" and warns that it will only hurt workers by costing the industry jobs.

In another intersection of food and politics, the presidential race is pervading promotions for products like Unilever's I Can't Believe It's Not Butter margarine spread. A new series of ads shows the brand's female cartoon mascot running for president of the refrigerator, the New York Times reports. Svedka vodka is also trying to seize on the hype with a wonky campaign that includes ads like this one.

A Dallas-area Kia dealership, meanwhile, used a Barack Obama impersonator in a recent television spot, U.S. News & World Report writes. Jon Stewart last week poked fun at the commercial, which plays on Obama's "Yes We Can" catchphrase.

In other advertising news:

-- Illinois state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Republican presidential convention delegate, has asked the Obama campaign not to continue using a primary ad in which he expresses his support for Obama. (Chicago Tribune)

-- Candidates for a Georgia U.S. Senate seat are doing battle over the Internet in lieu of expensive television ad buys. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

-- Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas released his first TV ad of the cycle, "Grace." (Hotline (subscription))

-- Democrat Tom Perriello, running for the House seat in Virginia's Fifth District, launched his first radio ad on Christian stations. (Hotline (subscription))

-- The oil industry has launched "aggressive" ad campaigns in an effort to ease consumers' anger over record-high gas prices. (Wall Street Journal (subscription))

-- Top drugmakers told the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Monday that they would put a six-month moratorium on advertising new drugs. (Advertising Age)

-- Tony Schwartz, creator of the famous "Daisy" ad for President Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 campaign, passed away on June 15. (Washington Post)