Dick DeVos, a Republican candidate for governor in Michigan, is running a television advertisement highlighting Michigan’s dismal economy and stressing that, as a businessman and political outsider, he can reverse the state’s economic slide.

The ad shows empty warehouses, parking lots and for-sale signs, conjuring up the recent rounds of layoffs and plant closings in the auto-industry.

Michigan ranks second to last in creating jobs and has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Those factors have taken a toll on Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whom DeVos never mentions in the ad.

“DeVos is going to hammer on this for the next seven months,” said Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes gubernatorial races for the Cook Political Report. “Given his very, very deep pockets,” the race could become a toss up.

But this ad is unlikely to help DeVos defeat Granholm. In a survey of political insiders, viewers considered the ad appealing and thought it had a strong message but did not find the ad memorable or one that they would talk about.

Democrats gave the ad a 6.1 out of 10 in terms of being effective and a 6.5 with respect to its appeal — both ratings are much higher than the average. But Republicans, Democrats and independents were only lukewarm when asked if “they would talk about” the ad, rating it a 5.4, 4.4 and 4.1, respectively, or remember it (5.9, 5.1 and 4.8).

While political consultants and Capitol Hill staffers gave the ad mediocre marks, lobbyists approved of its message and effectiveness. They rated it a 6.1 as an ad that they would talk about and a 6.2 on the memorable scale.

“This ad works on the person who sees it but does not appear to get beyond that,” said Chris Wilson, president of Wilson Research Strategies, which conducted the poll for The Hill.

“Anyone who has read a Malcolm Gladwell book in the past two years knows that the biggest goal of marketing is to create a buzz and to get people to talk about you. This ad is not going to send them out to talk about Dick DeVos as a candidate,” Wilson said, referring to the author of The Tipping Point and Blink.

Nevertheless, Duffy said the advertisement is a safe way for DeVos, who has spent upwards of $800,000 of his own money, to start the race. The primary is not until August.