If John McCain is the luckiest man since Ringo Starr, then his lack of money may prevent him from making a big mistake that both the Obama and Clinton campaigns are making.

McCain should ignore, or nearly ignore, old media. He should make ads (as he is doing at the moment) that tell stories. Basically, political campaigns must make edutainment and not adverts.

When Romney lost, I argued that one reason was his reliance on expensive old media ad buys. I have surveyed audience after audience (of all age ranges) and almost none of them watch commercials of any kind, but especially campaign commercials. The DVR is here now and the very Americans most likely to vote are embracing this technology in record numbers.

Mike Huckabee had no money and made a brilliant Internet video with Chuck Norris that I watched voluntarily. I supported My Man Mitt, but never remember watching an entire Romney ad. They were all “ads.” Why watch them . . . at least all of them?

My point is not to beat up Romney, a guy I hope to vote for again for President, but to make a simple point: less money may be a blessing this time around. It prevents becoming a “serious campaign” and flushing money down the old media commercial toliet.

I think the “red phone” ad for Senator Clinton worked, to the extent it worked, more for new media play than the actual buy on Texas television.

When Huckabee got some money, his ads got more professional, less creative, and he wasted his cash on old media. I think it no accident, his campaign was less successful. Obama and Clinton have so much money, they face the inexorable temptation to listen to the Wise People around them and run ads.

But Wise People often forget that the I-pod did not penetrate the culture in the Old Days of 2004 the way it does now. You-Tube video was not the force in the 2004 election it is today. Technology will change this election the way the 1960 election was the real arrival of television.

In 1960 it was really all about TV. In 2008 it is all about New Media.

My seventy-year old father passes around jokes and other materials on his email account. Get on the email lists of seniors (”You have to see this . . . “) like Huckabee did with Norris and you have done something.

Internet ads must tell a story. If a campaign was smart, they would call Josh Sikora now and ask about how to tell a story on new media. While hiring Josh (whose politics were by the way more Ron Paulish, but a job might be a job), they should also ask about the other genius he knows Mr. Jones. A winning modern campaign is going to be more Sikora and less Ed Rollins.

Age of course is not the key. This new media puts a premium on story telling. Find an aging story teller and empower him! Find a young story teller and empower her! Slick is less important than gripping.

In this world, it is less about “production values” or the cost of the catering and much more about the writers. Tell a story and if you want to send a message, use email. The campaign with the best story tellers will win.

McCain and company might also pre-order the book Roger Overton (blogging demi-god) wrote with the Scriptorium gang here.