Video Sunday
Washington, Washington... 6-foot-20, fucking kiling for fun:
Here come's George, in control
Women love his snuff and his gallant stroll
Ate opponents brains
And invented cocaine
He's coming / He's coming
He's coming / He's coming
And as an extra bonus, something my old colleague Jeremy Rosen made which strikes me as an excelent little production. Seems like something I would do with Frank if the times were different.
Conversations with Fiona Apple:
Finally, one for real politics. This is possibly the best "go vote" ad I've ever seen. It's intelligent, it's sophisticated, and it's humorous without being self-depricating. It's Women's Voices Women's Vote:
If there's any one thing that could get the progressive bandwaggon (health care! health care!) going in this country, it would be if younger/single women started voting in greater numbers.
J- that women voting/sex
Sun, 2006-10-15 15:46 — mollyJ-
that women voting/sex metaphor ad is bullshit. No young unmarried woman I know would be convinced to vote by it. I know alot of them and its true they're not voting. But its not because celebrities haven't yet let them know that its sexy to do so.
-M
Better idea?
Sun, 2006-10-15 16:34 — Outlandish JoshI thought it was clever, and miles better than any other generic "you should vote" campaign I've seen (and I've seen a lot).
Do you have other ideas for a 30-second message that's non-partisan? It's a hard thing to make compelling, which is one of the reasons (starts up old-man voice)back when I was doing "the politics" we made a point of being pointedly partisan. It's hard to make an impact when you're speaking in compltete generalities, but that's what you have to do when you take that tax-deductable money.
This seems like it might be on-target for mainstream young women around college age who might like sex in the city but aren't particularly politically active or aware.
It's certainly not going to win over any cynics, but from a pragmatic perspective those people are generally not worth trying to persuade at this point anyway. A converted cynic is a great asset (they're smart and energetic), but they usually have thought-out reasons to not be politically active and would need to be brought in much earlier and in a much more meaningful way.
Seems to me the sweet spot is the "why not go ahead and do it" vote. It's a start, and voting is habit-forming.
OTOH, I don't speak from any authority here, being a male and exposed to this crap all the time and all. Perhaps the borderline trivialization here is counterproductive.
(p.s. Hi molly! Thanks for the commentary!)
Voter Femmination
Mon, 2006-10-16 09:48 — JeremyThanks for the plug on the video there!
On non-silly things:
I saw an interview with Marg Helgenberger (who plotted out this campaign) the other morning after the Sunday morning yuckheads. Granted, she didn't have a lot to say beyond get your ass to the polls, but what she did say reflects exactly what you just lined out Josh.
She didn't care who they were voting for (though as Karalyn points out women are more likely to vote Democrat), and she wanted some way to encourage them to do so which was non-partisan, short, and a bit witty.
My only problem with it is that it's probably got no staying power. The obfuscation's over after the first time you see it.
That's why it needs some good ol' homebrew internet involvement, I think. Provide a source file on their site and let anyone mix it up. Or, better yet, have people submit their own. I'm sure a New York woman voter could put together something truly hilarious about our big, red levers.
another vid
Mon, 2006-10-16 14:02 — Joe FeliceI thought that voting commercial was really chaming too. On the topic of videos for young women, have you seen this amazing piece by Dove soap? I've watched it like 20 times:
http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/home_films_evolution_v2.swf
(found on boingboing)
Nice
Mon, 2006-10-16 14:09 — Outlandish JoshGood one joe. I especially like the part where they show you how photoshop is an integral part of the fashion process.
yea its the trivialization
Mon, 2006-10-16 21:16 — mollyyea its the trivialization thing that get to me, and in thinking it over there probably is a pretty big demographic who would think it was cute and remember it and maybe vote because of it?
I just don't hang out with them. I think my intellectual feminist friends (who would interestingly probably not characterize themselves as such...) don't vote because they don't feel represented- to put it in the simplest terms. And women from various TV dramas definitely don't represent us. Unless maybe instead of a sexual confessional style it could be more of a personal politics confessional style ( I realize this conflicts with your need to be non partisan, im just brainstorming). basically you gotta make me respect these ladies if you want me to follow their example. But of course then you're addressing a different demographic. If you had an ad with 5 radical female artists/writers/intellects, some are gay, some are non white, various ages etc and I knew of even just two of them and was into them and they seriously discussed how they feel conflicted about the electoral process but some specific issues made them feel compelled and they laid out why they personally decided TO vote in an intelligent manner THEN you would have me. Because they would represent me and I would identify and get excited and tell my friends.
So if you wanna make this ad let me know and I'll send you a list of possible candidates.
sorry if i sent this three times.
Molly, that's a great idea
Tue, 2006-10-17 11:05 — Outlandish JoshThat's actually a fantastic idea. I would love to make something like that for YouTube. I was actually falling asleep last night thinking about trying to make one that explained the potential for a generational wave to really change the direction of the US on a lot of levels...
It could make a great series: short but intelligent videos about why not to give up, or whatnot.
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