SPRINGFIELD -- It used to be that when political candidates made videos, they'd air on television, playing over and over until Election Day.

That's still going to happen in Illinois before the February primary, as candidates in crowded races for governor, U.S. Senate and other offices compete to deliver their messages to voters.

But this go-around, Illinois candidates are making more videos that are never intended to air on TV. Instead, the videos are going straight to their Web sites.

The practice gives candidates a little more time to get their message across than a TV commercial might offer. The videos can sometimes be more creative, and posting a clip to YouTube is certainly far less expensive than buying air time.

The point is to reach another audience that might not be watching the local news when a lot of the ads run. And if a video catches on as popular, it can be easily e-mailed and posted to blogs, getting the candidate more exposure.

"People like to watch movies," said Karen Craven, spokeswoman for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jacob Meister.

Meister's site has several short videos where he talks about issues and another, longer, documentary-style one about his trip to Springfield to make his candidacy official.

DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom's campaign shoots for humor in its videos. The Republican candidate for governor has a series on his Web site seeking to parody an ad for Dos Equis beer.

One features Schillerstrom sitting at a restaurant table. The video is about taxes, and Schillerstrom stares sternly into the camera and says only: "No."

"We wanted to do something fun and something different," said Schillerstrom spokesman Brad Hahn.

Taking to the Web to post videos is less expensive for candidates than buying ad time on TV. But there's of course no guarantee about how many people will actually watch them.

Some campaigns keep full-time videographers with expensive equipment on staff. But others have taken a pass on producing Web videos.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, a Republican running for state treasurer, has posted a low-tech video asking viewers whether they think he needs a haircut. He used the question to introduce a video describing a newspaper column and highlighting interesting fundraisers.

But Rutherford said he got a lot of response to the somewhat off-beat video, and plans a sequel where he goes to the barber.

"You can do more with it than just with a 30-second or 1-minute commercial," he said.

Coincidentally, Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat running to keep his post, has displayed a video with his own barber.

Quinn spokeswoman Elizabeth Austin says the short clips give a "behind the scenes" look at the campaign, hopefully connecting volunteers and voters to the message.

"I think the videos give a really good feeling of what he's like in those one-on-one situations," she said.

The primary election is Feb. 2.