There's publicity money can't buy, and then there's influence that certainly does have at a price…

In two last-minute attempts to influence the UK general election on Thursday…

• News Corp's Conservative-supporting The Sun tabloid was only too happy to pump Tory leader David Cameron out of its own purse.

• But the party has paid a fair whack from its coffers for the equivalent message on YouTube's front page.

It bought one of the video site's most lucrative ad spots on polling day - a click-to-play homepage video. The buy may at least give us some sight of YouTube's ad rate card in the UK. Says Catherine Turner of the rival, less well-funded Liberal Democrats' digital communications team…



about 22 hours ago Just heard the @Conservatives have bought front page ads on YouTube for tomorrow. FYI that costs £50,000. Google tried to sell it to us... CatTurner

Cat

about 4 hours ago @RobertAndrews to own the space for 24hrs excluding all other ads CatTurner Cat

It's money the Conservatives have to spare, having raised three times more in donations than the governing Labour party, FT.com says. Though Labour says (via BrandRepublic): "In the last few days, we've taken £100,000 in small donations online."

It's often said that the UK's comparatively right-wing Tories are still to the left of America's Democratic party. But, even so, The Sun's comparison of Cameron to Obama has outraged liberals and raised others' eyebrows, prompting immediate parodies. (Yes, Nick Clegg got an earlier treatment, too).

YouTube and News Corp (NYSE: NWS) are each desperate for something different - respectively, for advertising revenue and for a relaxation of UK media regulation.

If they win power, the Conservatives are likely to reform media regulator Ofcom and encourage stronger alternatives to the BBC - two big News Corp bugbears...

The return from those outcomes will be worth far more than £50,000 to the Sun publisher.