I’m still loving the whole cultural element that has emerged from this election. The “Five Friends” campaign is a pretty interesting usage of Hollywood star power to encourage Americans to vote. It’s kind of ironic that in a democratic country you need the likes of Will Smith and Tom Cruise to give you a reason to vote, while a whole lot of people in the world are still waiting for the day they get to cast their vote in an actual free election (Jordan included). In any case, I thought the video was pretty cool, putting aside how effective celebrity endorsements and activism is or isn’t. What I thought was especially noteworthy, from a techie point of view, is the usage of YouTube and Google Maps in the US elections. Just a few years ago, who would’ve thunk it?
Uncensored versions…
via: jazarah
Really smart way to get people voting and raise peoples’ awareness
I really wish arabs were united like that, one caring for another
thanks for posting
The funny thing is within a very short period of time, people grow complacent. Even in places where the right to vote is not assured, if given the right to vote, the rates would end up falling quickly.
It is interesting to see the transformative nature of technology. When I was a young child, commercials were the end all be all. Then, we started seeing celebrity Public Service Announcements (PSAs) trying to get people excited about voting. Then we started seeing initiatives calling to the younger generation like Rock The Vote. Now, they’re all moving online and PSAs have gone high-tech. Interesting to see how the world changes (and how much it stays the same).
I think the correlation between the two videos made it even more effective. The 1st one was kind of vague at first, but then the second one clearly shows the sarcasm beneath the ” don’t vote”! and I like the advertising approach 😀