CHICAGO (AP) – Featuring a cartoon snake named “Squeezy” and photos of adorable children, Gov. Pat Quinn’s new online campaign to get Illinoisans excited about pension reform quickly inspired mock Web pages and criticism from unions, lawmakers and the Twitterverse.

But some social media experts, and a few fellow Democrats, called it an innovative approach to a complex issue that could work in Quinn’s favor. That is, if the Chicago Democrat can capitalize on the spike in attention and overcome the parody.

“Now is when people are focusing on the site, they need to translate the talk into action,” said Darrell West, a government scholar with the Washington-based Brookings Institution. “That’s something they need to do fast to take advantage of the momentum.”