Obama iBranding on TV (VIDEO)

  

100342 comments so far (is that a lot?)http://www.parcbench.com/2009/11/13/obama-ibranding-on-tv-video/Obama+iBranding+on+TV+%28VIDEO%292009-11-13+13%3A56%3A45Alicia+Cohn

Written by Alicia CohncloseAuthor: Alicia Cohn Name: Alicia Cohn
Email: alicia.m.cohn@gmail.com
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About: Freelance writer from the Heartland.See Authors Posts (13) on November 13, 2009

The cooperation between Hollywood and the Obama administration has reached a really creepy level. A few weeks ago, first lady Michelle Obama and second lady Jill Biden announced a week (October 19 through 25) of heavy-handed promotion for their cooperative volunteer program iParticipate. Part of this promotion strategy co-opted hit television programming.

Some people get upset at movies and television shows that insert advertising into the set dressing. You know, like lingering shots of a Ford logo on the front of the SUV or brand-name mayonnaise when Character A opens the fridge.

I am not one of those people. Brand name products and advertisements surround us every day in real life. In my opinion, if the extra money from a little bit of advertising makes the special effects that much better, what’s the harm? (Plus, in the case of “New Moon,” which is already providing a backdrop for Vitamin Water and Volvo, it is kind of hilarious.) Anyway, I would rather see a cupboard full of identifiable products than not be able to see what is going on due to the little pop-up advertisement in the corner of my screen.

However, I start to get suspicious when the advertising campaign pushes viewers to do something for the sake of being “good” rather than because it’s a “good” product. When a bunch of TV shows agree to plug administration-approved ways that people should “volunteer” to spend their time—just because it’s the right thing to do?—it makes phrases like “for the greater good” pop into my head. It might seem benign, but it indicates an underlying ideology that our wise overlords know best, and attractive entertainers are the perfect mouthpiece to convince us to accept and obey.

The stars of a few shows filmed simple PSAs for the cause, which is a little more palatable. “Castle” star Stana Katic promoted “A Better Community” as a way to help “reclaim, rebuild, and reunite,” an overdose of nonsense that at least I can mute without missing a plot point. Other shows, however, seasoned their regular programming with a little bit of propaganda by inserting a scripted moment into the show itself.

Some shows did this better than others. “Ugly Betty,” earnestly promoting a U.N. program that donates bed nets to third world countries, was one of the most irritating, considering the U.N. would be a lot more effective at preventing malaria if they promoted the use of DDT instead of $10 tents. It is impossible to deny that at least some of these volunteer opportunities have political implications.

But it is an extremely strategic campaign precisely because it creates a politically-linked brand. Not only does it co-opt  an extremely hip branding strategy in order to subconsciously make these pre-approved volunteer opportunities seem more appealing to the key television demographic (volunteering? there’s probably an app for that!), it actually invites the viewer to brand his or herself.

Volunteering is not hip; iParticipating is. So go ahead and make the wide overlords proud; do something selfless like sign a pre-drafted letter at the iParticipate website. I am sure that every click-through gives the administration something to brag about at the next campaign meeting.

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