Hi all!
Not to steal Eugene's thunder here, but I think he's away from a computer for a while longer today, and I just uploaded the first Local Voices ad to http://truthandhope.org/ and want you to see it (and share it!)
I love this approach. I'm extraordinarily jealous of this ad. :) And as much as I enjoy the hard-hitting anti-McCain stuff (and there's still a place for that in certain markets), I think these type of videos are exactly what's needed to push some of the undecideds into an Obama comfort zone.
More about the project:
Local Voices is being filmed in small communities in battleground states such as North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, and Ohio, where local voters who support Obama are asked to speak candidly to camera about the issues in this election they find most pertinent to their daily lives, and why Obama is their candidate. Central to the success of Local Voicesis recognition—in these short real people ads, Americans in communities that are often overlooked will see their own towns and neighbors conceptualizing their support of Obama through the lens of that particular region’s struggles and identity. For example, in the aptly-named Pennsylvania town of Coaldale, where earlier this year a man plummeted 500 feet down one of the many strip mines decimating this area, we talk to a mine employee about his own battles with health insurance companies over a work-related injury, set against the backdrop of the school where he is dropping off his daughter before his shift begins. Though Local Voices brings us too many different towns, we see they all share high prices at gas pumps, boarded up homes and business and the yellow ribbons wrapped around trees showing that while these problems effect us all on a personal level, the challenges must be met by strong national leadership and unity.
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 and almost user-generated, not slick but organic, honest and moving while delivering clear and on-point messaging.
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