June 14, 2007

"You're into border security/Let's break the border between you and me"... sings Obama Girl.

Obama Girl is our new glimpse into the way independent YouTube videos are going to transform campaign advertising:



According to Jake Tapper, the video "poke[s] racy fun at the way some voters have responded viscerally to both Obama's charisma and the personal nature of his political appeal." Yes, and the video also stimulates the viewer to feel even more viscerally bonded to Obama. I love the fact that there is nothing the campaigns can do about material like this (although I'm sure there are people who would like to regulate this kind of thing and think it would/should be legal to do so).

Background facts (in case you are foolish enough to assume the singing voice is that of the woman you see in the video):
The song was performed by Leah Kauffman, a 21-year-old undergraduate at Temple University in Philadelphia, who wrote the lyrics with a friend, 32-year-old advertising executive Ben Relles, and the music with her producer, Rick Friedrich.

An actress/model named Amber Lee Ettinger then lip-synched the song for the video, shot by filmmakers found on Craigslist two hours before Relles and Ettinger hit New York City one Friday in May to shoot the video on a DV camera.

"Not including the hours we spent working on it, it probably cost a couple thousand dollars," said Relles, a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, who said he did it for fun, not money, but is also selling "Obamagirl" and "I Got a Crush on Obama" T-shirts.
And they do like Obama and hope to help him -- with material he can never (openly) approve of. Interesting how his inability to control it allows something so unacceptable to have its effect helping him.

But this is America. Meanwhile, in Iran, they're executing porn actors.

UPDATE: Ben Relles grew up in Madison.

12 comments:

George M. Spencer said...

He's being marketed as the all-new improved Jack Kennedy.

New voice for a new genefrontieration.

Bad news for leering Fred.

Hoosier Daddy said...

But this is America. Meanwhile, in Iran, they're executing porn actors

290-seat parliament approved that "producers of pornographic works and main elements in their production are considered corrupter of the world and could be sentenced to punishment as corrupter of the world."
The term, "corrupter of the world" is taken from the Quran, the Muslims' holy book, and ranks among the highest on the scale of an individual's criminal offenses. Under Iran's Islamic Penal Code, it carries a death penalty.


I wonder at what point the Muslim world is going to have their ‘come to Mohammed moment’ and realize how self-destructive their religion is. Couple this with the rise of ‘honor killings’ in Europe, the civil war in Gaza now, Lebanon and Iraqis who would rather slaughter each other than live in peace, it’s rather difficult to take groups like CAIR seriously when they whine about Islamophobia.

MadisonMan said...

hoosier daddy, I had the same reaction. Does the Iranian Parliament consider death squads "corrupters of the world"?

Kevin Hayden said...

I guess in Iran, Scooter Libby'd be facing death for his novel, then.

He's lucky he was born in the US where his hooker & bear dreams make him worthy of our respect.

jeff_d said...

I don't understand this:

"I'm sure there are people who would like to regulate this kind of thing and think it would/should be legal to do so"

Really? This is obviously satire, albeit mixed with (perhaps) a pro-Obama viewpoint. I don't get the strain of First Amendment theory that holds it acceptable to regulate a video clip like that, presumably because it has a political message, but would forbid any regulation of the same clip on the basis of its sexual content (not that I would favor the latter regulation either).

The distinction would appear to be that if the clip is purely for entertainment, with no element of advocacy, it's protected, but if it is designed as a message about a matter of public concern, then it's subject to government speech-rationing. Porn good, advocacy bad. Thou shalt not have a point.

This is why I couldn't teach Con Law - what a gross distortion of the original meaning and purpose of the First Amendment.

Fen said...

McCain-Feingold, not First Amendment.

BTW, McCain has now at 11%, dropping 7 points in 4 weeks.

Bissage said...

Why on earth would it “break the hearts of thousands of Democratic men” to learn there is no Obamagirl? Instead of getting their boobs done they should see their cardiologist.

And callipygian is an adjective meaning “having shapely buttocks.”

But don’t mind me. I’m just jealous.

Hoosier Daddy said...

BTW, McCain has now at 11%, dropping 7 points in 4 weeks.

Fred is at 24% right with Rudy and he hasn't even announced.

Mitt and McCain should just call it a day.

Anonymous said...

In response to the vid, Ted the Head said, “Obamalicious! It’s about time we put boobs and booty in the Democrat platform. But definitely not the Rodham’s. And maybe Biden’s pecs, too- you know, for the diversity vote.”

Grandma Pelosi agreed, “I'm a straight female, so Barack makes me hot. He makes even Madame Speaker wanna touch herself for the camera in ecstasy over his imaginary animal appeal being hyped to get the stupid vote. Hillary don’t do nothing for me, if you know what I mean.”

Palladian said...

So this is now the level of our political discourse? No wonder I hate politics.

Anonymous said...

Not sure which political discourse you’re referring to, Palladian, the video or reaction to it. "Obamagirl" isn’t just a poke at our sex and vid culture, but somebody’s idea of how to support a candidate by turning him into a luuuuuv object and making women look like stoopid voters. Surely we in turn can spoof the (wink, wink) underground marketing of Obama as a hottie? I wonder whether he'll take the VP slot on Hillary's ticket. She could use the PC sizzle.

Jacob said...

She's also behind the my box in a box" parody (which was actually surprisingly decent.