I want to share an update on our progress. Lee Hirsch is in Joplin, Missouri now shooting the first 'Local Voices' ad, and John Allen is leaving for Reno, Nevada tomorrow morning to shoot another for this series. Our intention is to take this project to Indiana, Florida & Ohio next. You can read more about this project on our website here.
here
We have also produced a Spanish language version of the 'Judgment' ad:
Our 'Thank John McCain' ad is currently airing in Colorado & Nevada.
We need to take this spot & the Judgment spot to Virginia, Indiana & Florida next. Below my signature, I am going to share a letter John Allen sent to his contacts which details the work he will be doing for us in Nevada, as well as what Lee is doing in Missouri. We anticipate Lee's first spot to be finished this Saturday. He shot his first interview yesterday & texted a message that it was going far better than even expected, so we're all very excited to see the finished project & help the fight to win Missouri.
Thank John McCain:
Judgment:
If you can help us with the airing of 'Thank John McCain' and 'Judgment' (both English & Spanish) in battleground states next week and/or the 'Local Voices' project, please contribute at TruthandHope.Org.
TruthandHope.Org
Thank you for your help,
Eugene Hedlund
Founder/Chair
TruthandHope.Org PAC
Here's John's Letter"
Dear Friends
I have found a way to be effective in turning the tide toward Obama in pivotal counties of swing states - Making locally filmed and locally broadcast ads that give a voice to Obama supporters in areas where voters are still unsure. Hearing from people like themselves who are courageous and articulate enough to speak about why they support Obama, in towns where doing so could mean loosing a job, can make the difference.
As a filmmaker I have committed to making and airing as many of these spots as possible between now and November 4. Peter Hastings, Emmy winning writer and producer and myself, an award winning documentary filmmaker are teaming up to cut a path to victory for Obama. Our partners, the Truth and Hope PAC, are providing the financial vehicle, legal logistics, the research data and the ad placement.
These spots will be airing in a week from now.
Lee Hirsh, my good friend who started this ad campaign, is in a small city in Missouri where he is something like a savior to the Obama supporters there who appreciate us coming to them. They feel like they have not been forgotten, and that they are no longer standing alone. They talk about the great number of closet democrats and their underground-railroad conditions. Seeing people like themselves speak out on television is certain to encourage others to vote freely when the local dominant winds say that 'Obama is palling around with terrorists'.
If you would like to be part of this action please contribute at www.truthandhope.org.
We are all volunteers and every dollar goes to production and airtime. -- 35 dollars buys one 60 second ad -
$4000 buys 125 ads per week in Lyon County Nevada - 625,000 homes - 1+million micro targeted viewers.
(The maximum we can accept from an individual is $5,000 )
The campaign targets cities with a population of approximately 20-50,000 in each of the following four swing states:
Colorado - 20 electoral votes
Missouri - 11 electoral votes
Nevada - 5 electoral votes
Ohio - 20 electoral votes
Your support and networking power can make a difference.
Feel free to write your own message at the top and forward this to everyone who you would like to give the opportunity to make a difference.
Our team leave Friday THIS WEEK for Lyon County Nevada.
Contact me if you want to get involved. We could use production support as well as financial support.
Please donate!
Please donate via the link above and check the "Lee Hirsch - Local Voices" box,
And spread the word -
Love and Peace,
John
PS. read below Lee's original proposal
Local Voices for Obama
60 second commercials - On message/ homemade feel/ real voices/ regional
Produced by Truth and Hope PAC and Lee Hirsch
Local Voices will be filmed in small communities in battleground states such as Missouri, Colorado, Nevada, and Ohio, where local voters who support Obama are asked to speak candidly about the issues they find most pertinent to their daily lives, and why Obama is their candidate.
Central to the success of Local Voices is that people recognize themselves in these short real-people ads. Americans in communities that are often overlooked will see their own towns and neighbors articulating their support of Obama through the perspective of that particular region's struggles and identity. For example, in Carthage, Missouri we talk to a millworker and father of three about his battle to keep his house after missing 2 mortgage payments, set against the backdrop of the school where he is dropping off his daughter before his shift begins.
Each segment of Local Voices will be shot over a two-day time period with a four-day total edit turnaround into powerful, documentary styled ad spots for local television in the communities where each respective segment is filmed. The content will aesthetically reflect the candid, unrehearsed, sometimes humorous nature of the interviews, and the honesty of the sentiments expressed therein. The feel of Local Voices promises to be authentic, not slick but honest and moving - delivering clear and on-point messages.
Your funds will get these pieces on the air. Everyone involved is volunteering their time. Truth and Hope is handling the coordination, legal logistics and Ad Buys and Hirsch and a team of film professionals are handling the production.
Directed by Lee Hirsch a double Sundance- and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker.