I would imagine there are more effective ways to wind down after a hard day’s work, but I do it by watching three kids wrestle in the space between the television and the couch. The sounds of the TV usually fall deeply into background noise while the conversation I try to carry on with my wife sputters along to the pace and volume of the children.

But when the Michael J. Fox ad appeared on the screen last Friday, everyone froze, including the kids. The ad is arresting, to say the least. Fox shifts from side to side, the effects of his decade-long bout with Parkinson’s disease now taking an obvious, horrendous impact on his wrecked body.

This isn’t your standard television commercial break, nor is it your typical political ad. Among the 30 or so political campaign ads running non-stop on Missouri and Kansas television stations this week, this one definitely has an impact, even if for nothing more than seeing a celebrity in a completely different light. A human light.

Fox’s participation in the ad on behalf of Democratic candidate Claire McCaskill in the hotly contested Missouri Senate race is a brave, yet calculated move. The ad calls into question the position of McCaskill’s opponent, incumbent Senator Jim Talent, who opposes a ballot measure that would add the right to conduct embryonic stem cell research into the state constitution.

Opponents of the ad claim that Fox overmedicated – that he made his body appear more spastic than it is in actuality. Fox says it’s only natural that people see what it’s like for someone to live with Parkinson’s. He also said he has no control over how the medication affects his body. Sometimes the side effects are more extreme than others.

No matter what side you fall on in the stem cell debate, though, the ad effectively puts a face on the horrors of what has been a primarily mysterious disease. The 30-second spot has been commented on by every major news outlet and become the fodder for bloggers everywhere.

By putting a face with the story of this debilitating disease, Fox’s cause has gotten a tremendous shot in the arm. The phrase “embryonic stem cell research” is now on the lips of politicians in the federal, state and local levels.

Whether its impact will boost McCaskill’s efforts or be the blame for her downfall, it does speak to the advantages of putting a face to a story. Hidden in the controversy of this ad, there is a lesson that career colleges can use that could give their public relations initiatives a boost.

By developing press releases to relay the stories of your most successful students, the media can finally put a face to the “for profit” schools. Career colleges are filled with these types of stories. The students who come to class despite the impact of chemotherapy treatment. Single mothers who left violent marriages to get an education and make something of themselves. Students who have turned away from lives on the streets for a legitimate careers.

Media coverage of the career college sector has been limited to the occasional student-filed law suit or accreditation revocation, which is disappointing. But in retrospect, what else have journalists been given to focus on? Career colleges are missing out on a key angle to their story and at the top of the list are the human interest stories. In fact, as a former journalist, I can tell you that some of the impressive stories I’ve heard about career college students would be at the top of any reporter’s list of articles. The problem is they don’t know about them. To borrow the words of a fellow PlattForm blogger, you can’t win if you don’t play.