22 March 2007

It’s “1984” All Over Again ... in 2008

Say what you will about this mash up of arguably the greatest television advertisement of all time -- "1984," directed by Ridley Scott, and first aired during Super Bowl XVIII -- not only is it clever (one of those “No one thought of this before now?!” things), but it also heralds a new movement in political campaigns: one in which individual, private supporters create and disseminate advertisements of and on their own, one in which candidates are not entirely in control of their message. Whether this is something to be celebrated or lamented remains to be seen (probably a bit of both), but the role of user-generated content certainly represents one more reason why the 2008 presidential election will be unlike anything we’ve seen before.

No comments: