• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, August 2, 2007

Phil de Vellis created an online sensation with the "Vote Different" ad that cast Sen. Hillary Clinton as the Orwellian dictator in a mash-up of campaign footage and the landmark Apple "1984" spot. The video, posted under a pseudonym, got more than 4 million views on YouTube and drew widespread coverage on TV and in major newspapers and political blogs.

It also cost de Vellis his job as a senior strategist at

Blue State Digital, a Washington, D.C., Internet consulting firm working for Sen. Barack Obama's campaign. After fielding various offers, de Vellis has landed at D.C. media consultancy Murphy Putnam Media, which works with Democratic candidates.

"They were very open-minded about ideas I had, and I just really clicked with them on a creative level," says de Vellis, who oversees new media for Murphy Putnam. The firm represents New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson in the 2008 presidential campaign and last year worked on the successful campaigns of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, among others.

Now de Vellis has carte blanche to concoct viral ads. "We're definitely thinking about how to integrate YouTube with clients' campaigns," he says.