Berlin  - An election poster featuring two ample cleavages to advertise Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) was generating debate in blogs and across German media on Tuesday.

The poster shows Vera Lengsfeld, the CDU's election candidate for the Berlin district of Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain, wearing a low-cut top, alongside a photo of Merkel in a revealing dress, taken during the 2008 opening of Oslo's opera house.

The poster, bearing the slogan, "We have more to offer," has generated a lively response well beyond the borders of Lengsfeld's Berlin constituency.

Blog comments praised the campaign as "cheeky and fun," and "self-assured and brave," while others called the campaign "brainless," and "sexist," even suggesting it was paramount to prostitution.

The CDU's federal offices remained tight-lipped about the campaign, stating merely that Merkel had not been asked before her picture was used.

Lengsfeld, a former East German human rights activist, appeared happy with the responses her poster had generated.

"I had 17,000 clicks in one day on my election blog. I would not have achieved that with a regular street campaign," the CDU candidate said.

However, it is questionable whether clicks will convert into votes for the 57-year-old who lost her parliamentary seat in 2005, as her shabby-chic central Berlin district is a Green Party stronghold.

Lengsfeld is standing against incumbent Hans-Christian Stroebele, who has twice won the Greeens' only directly mandated seat in the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament.

"I needed to come up with something to even be noticed in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg," Lengsfeld said, adding, "When you don't have much money for your campaign, you're reliant on good ideas."

Not everyone agreed that the poster was a winner. Stroebele said the campaign slogan begged the question what more the CDU had to offer. "I am looking in vain for the political content," the Green candidate said.

Social Democrat rival Bjoern Boehning drew reference to Germany's leading tabloid, saying, "Clearly Ms Lengsfeld is looking desperately for attention in the style of a "Bild" poster-girl, rather than seeking a dialogue with the voters."

Left Party contender Halina Wawzyniak gave a more positive response, giving Lengsfeld credit for producing something other than the standard campaign shot. However she thought the deep cleavage shot was "a tad too much."

Wawzyniak, 36, also shows flesh on her campaign poster, with a close-up shot of a jeans-clad bum revealing a lower back bearing the word "socialist."

Women blogging on the internet generally had a lower opinion of Lengsfeld's campaign than men. One woman, Lena, said the poster was "embarrassing and shameful," while another commentator, Ute, said it was "ridiculous."

Voting expert Gero Neugebauer didn't think the strategy would be successful in the long term. "Such a poster is senseless if you think it can generate attention beyond the moment."

"This is no way to achieve sympathy for an election choice," the political scientist added. (dpa)