Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.) and his advisers most likely expected the week-old “Again” ad to conjure Rockwellian nostalgia for neighborly intimacy and small-town straight talk.

How quaint.

Instead, the Republican challenging Democrat Heidi Heitkamp for the seat being vacated by soon-to-be-chartless budget wonk Sen. Kent Conrad (D) has been ridiculed and berated by Web surfers who found the campaign spot laughable.

One played the gender card:

Others eviscerated the “Mean Girls”-like chatter:

Some took offense to Berg’s regional pandering:

While a few chose to bask in the anticipated backlash:

A Berg for Senate aide declined to comment on the ad in question, stating only that North Dakota voters “are increasingly turned off” by personal attacks leveled against Berg by “Heidi, [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid [D-Nev.] and their liberal allies.”

May the best sound bite win.