This video by [in support of] the Barack Obama campaign,* a parody of the “1984” ad by Macintosh, has been all over the ‘net:
Someone supporting the Clinton campaign has finally posted this as a rebuttal:
The latter is funny, although I don’t see how it negatively impacts Obama. Then again, I don’t really “get” the first one either, so I’m probably not the target audience.
Just for kicks, here’s the original Macintosh ad:
Response video via SistaToldja.
UPDATE: Stuart Rothenberg has a plausible take on all this:
Nobody should be surprised by the overreaction to the Hillary Clinton/Apple pseudo TV spot posted on YouTube. Reporters (and political consultants) simply love anything new and creative, even if its political impact is non-existent.
Here’s a news flash: the “ad” will have no political impact. Entertaining: Absolutely. Creative? Certainly. An interesting example of modern technology? Sure. But the ad won’t change any votes, and it is unlikely to create or re-make impressions of Senators Clinton or Barack Obama.
Interestingly, more people will see the ad on or hear about it from “traditional” cable or broadcast television networks than will watch it on YouTube. So if the ad had any impact anyway, it would be because of the reach of traditional forms of media, which played the spot repeatedly.
But at the end of the day, the YouTube ad will be a footnote about the campaign. It’s yet another example of the tactical nature of this 2008 campaign, and while tactics can and do matter, the Democratic race will be decided in Iowa and New Hampshire by a relative handful of Democratic participants, not by Washington, D.C. insiders who are all aflutter with the latest hip happening.
I don’t think it’ll be decided by the first two contests, not with a treasure trove of delegates available February 5th, but otherwise that seems right.
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*Note: While it ends with “BarackObama.com,” the source of the video is unclear. According to the SF Chronicle, “Obama’s campaign says it had absolutely nothing to do with the video that attacks one of his principal Democratic rivals, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Indeed, the ad’s creator is a mystery, at least for now.”
UPDATE (3/22): It has been revealed that Phil de Vellis, an employee of a firm that is doing technical consulting for the Obama campaign, made the video. He claims to have done so without the knowledge of the Obama campaign or his employer, which has fired him.
