SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Young pregnant women sing a Spanish-language spoof of the Little Peggy March classic “I Will Follow Him.”

A man with a baby bib plays piano while another man, naked except for his diaper, dances to the lively tunes.

It’s not just a skit for YouTube. This is the latest campaign commercial by the Costa Rican presidential candidate Luis Fishman.

With less than three weeks before the Feb. 7 elections, Fishman has uncorked a case of campaign gags, which seem nothing short of nothing-to-lose banter from a fourth-place contender.

But beyond the diapers and dancing mothers-to-be, is a message. His latest campaign slogan: the lesser evil.

This, from a man who took over the reins of a campaign with the Social Christian Unity Party, after its previous candidate, former President Rafael Angel Calderon, was found guilty of corruption in October.

Despite the lackluster handover, Fishman still could muster 5.9 percent of the vote, according to this weekend’s Unimer poll, published in the daily La Nacion.

“We’ve carried out a campaign that’s upbeat, positive, (and) distinctive,” Fishman said during a live online chat Tuesday hosted La Nacion’s website. “The pregnant women represent the beginning, what’s to come, a family,” he said.

The ad campaign comes in stark contrast to the crime-fighting straight suit wearing guy depicted on billboards across the country with the slogan "Fishman: Gives me security" — a stab at a key issue for voters this year.

The new honesty campaign is way out there, seeming to go beyond even the absurdity that can sometimes be construed as Costa Rican humor.

"My baby's coming soon. The lesser evil is the better one, that's why I'm going to pick him," women sing in Costa Rican gospel harmony. "Realistic, sincere, no stories, I believe him, which is why I'll vote for him."
 

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