New York ? Given the historic election we’ve all just experienced, it’s hard to remember back to last week, let alone June 2007, when Barack Obama was a true underdog, polling way behind front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.

That’s when a 32-year-old ad executive came up with an idea for a new Web video. Seeking something catchy to launch a new site, barelypolitical.com, he sensed that Obama, though well behind Clinton, had a huge following online because of his youthful appeal.

And so Ben Relles made the “Obama Girl” video, a racy paean to the candidate that’s been seen millions of times on YouTube and other sites, spawned sequels, was picked up by mainstream media across the globe and made bikini-clad model Amber Lee Ettinger a unique kind of political Web celebrity.

Other pop culture moments from the campaign:

¢ In May 2007, Oprah Winfrey endorses Barack Obama on “Larry King Live,” the first time the talk show queen has ever endorsed a political candidate. “What he stands for, what he has proven that he can stand for … was worth me going out on a limb,” she says.

¢ In February, rapper, songwriter and producer will.i.am brought together a star-studded cast for his own viral video, the song “Yes We Can,” based on the candidate’s acclaimed speech after a second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary.

¢ When was the last time you saw a presidential candidate proudly displaying his hip-hop knowledge? In April, at a rally in Raleigh, N.C., Obama is bemoaning political attacks from the Clinton camp.

“You just gotta kinda let it …” the candidate says. And then he brushes the dirt off his shoulders. It’s a Jay-Z move, and Obama does it once, twice, three times, then brushes some off his leg, too. “That’s what you gotta do,” he tells the crowd.

¢ “He’s the biggest celebrity in the world. But is he ready to lead?” The words of John McCain’s anti-Obama campaign ad are provocative, but the images really get the attention: Obama speaking to an adoring crowd in Berlin, interspersed with footage of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

¢ It’s Sarah Palin time! Some have called this THE pop culture moment of the campaign – certainly it’s one of them. In September, Tina Fey, who looks uncannily like the Alaska governor, launches her much admired impersonation on “Saturday Night Live,” getting the look and the accent – and the wink – just right. The first sketch, with Amy Poehler as Clinton, comes after Palin’s shaky TV interview with Charles Gibson on ABC, and includes the iconic line, “I can see Russia from my house!”

¢ A great season for SNL gets even better – the show earns its best ratings in 14 years when Palin herself appears on the show, appearing on the same screen as Fey for only a split second, but then bopping along during a “Weekend Update” segment as Poehler raps: “All the mavericks in the house, put your hands up!” “

¢ Not to be upstaged by his running mate (well, not this time), John McCain makes his own appearance on SNL, just two days before the election. The GOP candidate shows he has a sense of humor, announcing he’ll pursue a new campaign strategy: “The reverse maverick. That’s where I’d do whatever anybody tells me.” McCain is a hit; unfortunately for him, the ratings don’t translate directly to votes.