Illinois to advertise Obamacare on satirical news site 'The Onion

In what almost sounds like a piece of "news" you actually would read on The Onion, Illinois is spending $150,000 to advertise the state's Obamacare exchange via the satirical news site.

“We know that to effectively reach Young Invincibles – who are 53 percent of our uninsured residents in Illinois – we have to work with non-traditional, and especially digital, sources for news and entertainment," Jennifer Koehler, executive director of Get Covered Illinois, said in a news release. "That’s where The Onion fits right into our outreach strategy."

Watchdog.org first reported on the new campaign.

The ad strategy involves placing a fake story (designated as such) on The Onion's website. It will be headlined "Man without health insurance is forced to sell action figures to pay medical bills."

Clicking on the headline will take readers to a short, satirical news story which will be accompanied by more ads promoting Obamacare.

The ads will start to appear soon as the Mar. 31 headline for open enrollment approaches, according to Watchdog.org.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) is a supporter of the new healthcare law.