Selling motherhood and apple pie
**It’s finally over. “Four more years”. It’s kind of sad. This was such a nice homely election. For all the talk of it being a ‘too close to call’ election, as soon as Obama had 270 electoral college votes articles started pouring in from everywhere about how the election went pretty much exactly as it was predicted to. **
Obama was going to win, and all the hoopla leading up to it felt like watching the repeat telecast of a thrilling tennis match, one in which you’re safely ensconced in the knowledge that your favourite wins in the end. Apart from the tiny, horrifying possibility that there could be an upset, everyone knew this election was Obama’s to win. Aside from the usual electoral ad campaigns that ran from each party, firmly lambasting the other candidate, there were some gems made by (not-so) independent people.
The terrible Republican response to women, cutting down funding for Planned Parenthood, overturning Roe v. Wade and massive stinkers about ‘legitimate rape’ and the like had most women in America fuming. The ‘You Don’t Own Me’ campaign by ordinary American women, singing to Lesley Gore’s 1964 hit, was a subtle but emotional message to women. Lesley Gore ends the video with a little personal appeal which is retrospective and touching.
Celebrity endorsements are the norm every election but this year’s breakaway winner in that category was geek god Joss Whedon (director of The Avengers, Buffy, and for the more hardcore fans Firefly and Dr. Horrible) with ‘Zomney 2012.’ It was a short video of Whedon washing up and advocating Romney as the only candidate whose policies would set America back on course for the zombie apocalypse, ending with “Mitt’s ready for the purity of his vision, are you?”
Holding the Republican banner aloft for celebrities was Clint Eastwood with his ‘empty chair’ interview. If an appeal for voluntary retirement of movie stars was ever legitimate, this was it. Clint was most comfortable when he ended with his trademark “Go on, make my day,” at the end. Everything before that was a rambling incoherent speech by an actor who was once cool. Even the smiles on the faces of the RNC leaders at the meet looked pained in the end.
Lena Dunham, co-writer and star of the new hit HBO show Girls also won hearts (and ruffled feathers) with her ‘First Time’ video. She talks about it being important that your first time is with someone great (voting for your first time).
The breakaway hits of the summer also provided ample inspiration for election ads. While Barack Obama singing Call Me Maybe was mildly funny, College Humour’s Romney Style was clearly the best. Spoofing K-Pop star Psy’s sensational viral video Gangnam Style it showed a Romney-lookalike dancing on a golf course singing “Heyy, wealthy ladies”. While it did go overboard sometimes, it was hilarious for the most part, with Romney’s Olympic race horse and Ryan singing about his own stunning good looks.
Fox’s The Simpsons came out a couple of hilarious sketches, supporting (gasp!) Obama. In one, Homer goes to vote and ends up outsourced to China but in the funnier of the two, Mr Burns tries to sell Romney to a very unwilling dog. As always, all the Simpsons sketches are funnier than they sound in script (i.e. here).
The official Obama campaign also came up with some really funny ads, notably the screen with ‘Get Romney’s Tax Plan’ tab that kept running away whenever you tried clicking on it. I’ve spent many amused minutes on it, giggling to myself and chasing the bright blue tab across the screen. The 30-second-spot on ‘Big Bird’ was very crude but effective as an exaggerated hyperbole from one of Romney’s debate bytes about decreasing funding to PBS. ‘Romney hates Big Bird’ was just one more thing adding to Romney’s image as a ridiculous martini-sipping robot-figure who hates poor people and big yellow cartoon birds. The whole Republican campaign this year seemed to go too far right to be considered as a credible alternative anymore.
After months of news coverage of almost nothing else, most people now feel the same way as four-year old Abigael Evans did, suffering from a serious case of election fatigue a week before elections. In my favourite election video this year, Abbie tearfully cries to her mother, that, she’s tired of “Bronco Bama and Mitt Womney”.
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