A health-care ad, featuring cute little children on a playground reading lines like “I’ll be diagnosed with leukemia and I’ll die,” was winner of a nation-wide competition of ads launched by Obama’s Organizing for America. The ad was produced and directed by Eric Hurt, a former contestant on the trashy reality show “Temptation Island.” Hurt’s previous directorial work includes a short film entitled “So Stoned” about 5 drugged-out friends smoking a bong and recounting disgusting stories from their past. “So Stoned” suddenly vanished from both Vimeo and FunnyOrDie.com after Obama consultant David Plouffe, announced Hurt’s selection..
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The ad was selected out of 1,000 entries, as part of Obama’s “Health Care Reform Video Challenge.” Ironically, instead of showcasing real people who suffer under the current health-care structure, the judges hand picked an ad that is all showbiz and zero substance. They chose to go with fake health-care horror stories read by adorable but soppy kid actors — pawns in a political high-stakes game of shocksploitation. These kids obviously don’t have dire health care problems; they just have showbiz parents who hooked them up with a gig.
Don’t be too surprised — Hollywood has lent Obama an ever-willing hand. The judges were comprised of a celebrity panel that reads like the Hollywood Squares: Rosario Dawson, musician Will.I.Am., Brandon Routh, Kate Walsh and Olivia Wilde, and raunchy “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane. When you think America’s health-care solutions — you want to call in Seth MacFarlane, right?!
In American politics there is a cardinal rule: if you must use a personal story to advance an ideology or an issue, be sure it is true. When a President stands before the public and uses names of real people with real problems to advance an agenda, he makes a point through presenting solid evidence — life lessons. Reagan did it, Clinton did it, George W. Bush did it… and there’s nothing wrong with it if it is true.
Not only did the Obama team ignore the facts, they ignored any input by average Americans. When you ask a glitzy Hollywood panel to come up with your health-care message, don’t be surprised if they enlist a reality TV has-been director of stoner movies. What is surprising in all this is that ads that deal with highly sensitive political messages are normally carefully focus-grouped in front of an audience of regular Americans. This is done so they have the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns about vitally important policy decisions.
Apparently, no one at the White House or the DNC were bothered much with grassroots concerns in this case (after all, DNC Chair Tim Kaine was on the judging panel). If they did, they would hear more about the economy — according to the latest Gallup poll 51% think the economy should be the President’s main focus, only 21% said health care. It all begs the question: if you have to make it all up with actors, what are you really saying? Perhaps a better question in this case: what are they smoking?
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