|
Stars to judge Obama ad contest
14/03/2008 13:43 - (SA)
Washington - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's advertising team is getting some friendly competition from film pros with some Oscar clout like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
The liberal group MoveOn.org, reprising a 2004 ad contest against President George W Bush, has enlisted the actors to help select an ad supporting Obama's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
MoveOn plans to air the winning commercial on national television, but organisers hope the real benefit could come simply from media attention, internet buzz and the star power behind it.
The contest doesn't include Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Rodham Clinton, except to say that the entries should not mention her.
'Push Obama over the top'
MoveOn.org has endorsed Obama and has used its membership network to make phone calls promoting his candidacy.
"The spirit of the contest is to put into video form what it is that you think will help push Obama over the top." said Iliyse Hogue, the campaign director for MoveOn.org Political Action.
"It's a great thing for aspiring ad makers and film makers who want to participate in a meaningful way."
Participants in the "Obama in 30 Seconds" contest will have until April 1 to submit their entries.
MoveOn members, which the organisation places at 3.2 million people, will be able to vote on their favourites by watching them on the MoveOn website.
Hollywood notables
The top 15 entries will then be judged by a panel of liberal activists, recording artists and Hollywood notables.
Among them will be Affleck and Damon, both actors and Academy Award-winning writers.
Also judging will be actor Steve Buscemi, film director Oliver Stone, singer songwriters Moby, Eddie Vedder and John Legend, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons.
MoveOn plans to announce the winner five days before the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.
But Hogue said the organisation had not yet decided when the ad would appear on television. "We want to see what the landscape looks like," she said.
Donations
Hogue said MoveOn members have donated $600 000 to the Obama campaign through MoveOn.
By law, the group is not permitted to co-ordinate its ad campaign with Obama's.
In 2004, MoveOn received 1 500 entries for its "Bush in 30 Seconds" competition.
The winner was an ad called Child's Pay, depicting children performing adult jobs followed by the words: "Guess who's going to pay off President Bush's $1 trillion deficit?"
CBS refused to run the ad during the Super Bowl, but it still ended up being among the most watched political commercials, receiving free air time on newscasts and websites.
The entries that year, however, included two that compared Bush to Hitler, which MoveOn removed from its contest website but which the Republican Party used as examples of "hate speech".
The contest entries this time are explicit: "Please no personal attacks on anyone."
|
News
