Amid warnings that both campaigns are engaging in too much mudslinging, the Obama campaign has released a 13-minute documentary style video and Web site targeting McCain’s involvement with S&L pro Charles Keating, who was at the center of a Savings & Loan scandal in the early ‘90s. And while attack videos are certainly not new media or a new tactic, producing this kind of mini-movie is. The Obama campaign seems to be cashing in on the success and/or influence of viral videos. It’s working. The trailer (yes, the trailer) has already garnered almost 300,000 views.
A different, but no less effective video tactic is interactive billboard in Los Angeles. The California Democratic Party installed an interactive billboardnear an L.A.-area rally where Sarah Palin was appearing. People can text-message short questions to the California Dems who would in turn put them on the billboard for all to read and ponder. It’s an interesting way to get supporters and protesters alike to consider tougher questions that might otherwise be glossed over in a rally event.
This week the Obama campaign also announced the launch of the Obama iPhone application. Use this application to organize your contacts by electoral state priority–if, say, you have three friends in a battleground state that needs Obama footsoldiers, they would be at the top of the list. The app also hooks up with your iPhone’s GPS to find local campaign events for you. It includes news feeds and, of course, a donation button. The Obama campaign has been big on word-of-mouth campaigning, so this seems like a reasonable way to work the GOTV mojo. At less than a month left to campaign, though, this application might have come a little late to the party to affect any real change.
Originally posted October 7, 2008 at PolicyByBlog