Thursday, July 31, 2008
McCain's "Sleezy" Obama Celeb Ad Passes 1 Million Views in 24 Hours on YouTube
Whether or not the McCain campaign's "Is He Ready to Lead" video will help or hurt his campaign is hard to say, but it is surely a hit. Uploaded yesterday, the video has garnered about 1.1 million views as of 10 p.m. Eastern time on 7/31.
Earlier today I asked Joan Walsh, media pundit and editor-in-chief of Salon.com about the ad. She told me:
"I think its basic premise is sleazy and unfair. Still, the pop culture references are definitely getting the added attention. We don't know yet whether viewers will decide it's a sleazy, unfair hit piece, or a clever take on Obama's meteoric rise."
Last Tuesday at Stanford, I caught up with Joan for this interview about the election and the campaigns' use of online video. She said that the McCain campaign had made significant improvements.
Joan was a participant in the Beet.TV online video roundtable.
-- Andy Plesser, Executive Producer
Update: 8.1: Here's an analysis of the McCain ad by Howie Kurtz of the Washington Post.