From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Those inescapable Sarah Palin ads for the Iditarod's subscription Web site were filmed just last Sunday, with Palin volunteering her time, Iditarod director Stan Hooley said today.

“We asked her if she would consider developing a promotional piece for us that we could use to drive our Web site subscriptions and she agreed to do it," Hooley said.

The Iditarod charges $33.95 for access to a combination of video and GPS tracking information on the pay portion of its Web site. The Palin ad appears whenever you visit the regular Iditarod.com site and we're regularly seeing them on local TV in Alaska.

Officials for the cash-strapped race are hoping Palin's national following will bring more people to the site.

Public figures don't come much more polarizing than Palin. I asked Hooley if he's worried the campaign will push other potential fans away.

“It might turn some off but I’m confident that it’s clearly going to be a good thing for us," he said.

The ads are appearing on KTUU Channel 2 -- the Iditarod's television partner -- and in other media outlets owned by KTUU's parent company, Hooley said.

Palin wasn't paid for the spot, he said. “She has absolutely volunteered for it.”

Finally: Why the Iron Dog snowmachine in the back of the shot? (Palin says in the clip that now the Iron Dog is over, it's time for her next favorite Alaskan event.)

Hooley says: “It’s clear that the Palins' passion for the Iron Dog is a priority, as it should be. I also am a great fan of that race and in my mind it’s perfectly appropriate to promote both races.”

And: “I kind of look at it as a way that maybe we can get those companies (sponsoring the Iron Dog) to become sponsors of the Iditarod.”