TV stations like the state channel al-Iraqiyah and the privately-owned al-Sharqiyah have also broadcast hours of election ads by the parties, ranging from big production numbers for the interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqi List and the Shia coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, to amateurish efforts by some of the lesser-known and less well-funded parties.
And this (3rd picture):
Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's party political broadcasts dominate the campaign on the airwaves. In this one, people from all walks of Iraqi life back Mr Allawi's promise of security.
And:
Allawi’s face is everywhere, as is Hakim’s turbaned head. It’s disconcerting to scan a seemingly innocent wall and have a row of identical Hakims smiling tightly down on you.
And...
And...
"I think these negative tactics will backfire," said Azzam Alwash, an ebullient 47-year-old civil engineer who is co-director of the campaign for Mr. Allawi's coalition. Like almost all of his counterparts in these elections, he has no prior experience in the field, though he oversees 80 campaign workers with a budget of $2.5 million. He toils in a "war room" in Mr. Allawi's Baghdad headquarters, where staff members work 18-hour days and coordinate satellite offices in all of Iraq's provinces.
"Our posters got pulled down too, so we decided the best way was with TV, radios and newspapers," Mr. Alwash said. Like many other groups, Mr. Allawi's has its own newspaper and enough money to pay for plenty of television and radio time. About 6 of the nearly 20 Iraqi television stations - and about half of the 200 Iraqi newspapers - are owned by parties. Rates for political spots on the larger Baghdad stations run as high as $3,000 per minute.
At his own desk, Mr. Alwash clicked on an Internet link and a song began to play: a campaign tune recorded last month by Elham al-Madfai, one of Iraq's best-known singers. The words, written in 1941, are about a doctor who can solve all the patient's problems. Every time the word doctor comes up in the song, the accompanying video shows a smiling Mr. Allawi.
"We're playing it all over our radio stations," Mr. Alwash said.
etc...