As TechPresident's Joshua Levy pointed out yesterday, this next video is so meta, it hurts. And I love it.
I'm telling you, man. It's all about user-generated content. I mean, name the last memorable online political video or advertisement you saw that was paid for or developed by a campaign itself? The Mike Huckabee/Chuck Norris video comes to mind, I guess, but that was memorable precisely because it played upon the DIY/meme culture inherent to the Internet. Other than that, though, nothing comes to mind.
Certainly, people have tried. You might've seen "Hillary and the Band", Hillary Clinton's grab at the youth vote from a few weeks ago. It has all the hallmarks of what the kids like, right? Ironic Photoshopping! Rock and Roll! The Blogs! Right. It's about as inspiring and/or entertaining as it sounds. Witness:
Clearly, strategists and campaigns have witnessed the power of the Internet as a content delivery system. Why they haven't been able to replicate the success found by other, independent sources is a question whose answer is going to make someone very rich someday. My guess? It all goes back to authenticity. Commercialization be damned, the Internet is still a populist place. Netizens (*cringe*) have finely tuned bullshit meters, and can sniff out pandering from miles away. Huckabee's video worked because his campaign demonstrated familiarity with this fact and decided to play along. Clinton's video failed because hers didn't.
First, there was Chuck Norris. Then, Ted Nugent. Now, finally, Mike Huckabee has hit the trifecta of roughneck celebrity supporters. His latest find? The Nature Boy himself! From CNN:
Huckabee is getting ready to rumble: wrestler Ric Flair, a.k.a. The Nature Boy, is supporting the former Arkansas governor in his bid for the White House.
CNN has confirmed the former WWF and WWE star wrestler is on board with Huckabee, and will co-host a campaign tailgate with the candidate at the South Carolina vs. Clemson football game on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, South Carolina. More details are forthcoming.
Man... I'll say it again: we're entering the realm of real entertainment. With that in mind, have a few Ric Flair clips to brighten up your morning.
That has nothing to do with today's post, but it's really all the intro I need before getting on with the show. Speaking of shows... haven't I seen this guy somewhere before?
Excuse me, are you... Fred Thompson?
FACT FILE: FRED THOMPSON ACCOUNT NAME: fredthompson NUMBER OF VIDEOS: 34 NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS: 708 TOTAL CHANNEL VIEWS: 48,211 TOTAL VIDEO VIEWS: 134,738
While Thompson's numbers aren't exactly gaudy (yet), they certainly have the potential to move in that direction despite the candidate's late start. According to the tracker at TechPresident.com, Thompson recorded a 3.2% increase in video views last week, second only to netmaster Ron Paul (5.3%) and the suddenly-interesting Mike Huckabee (5%). Not bad for a guy who's only officially been in the field since September 5th.
So, we can see that people are watching, and in increasing numbers. But, what exactly are they seeing? Why, I'm glad you asked.
You get... clever movie puns!
Debate clips!
And lots and lots of responses to challengers!
That seems like quite a bit, right? In fact, responses to challengers on the left account for roughly 18% of Thompson's video content. That's pretty substantial, especially compared with the numbers on Thompson's more direct "Ask Fred" series of clips...
...which currently make up only around 9% of the candidate's content. While the run-of-the-mill debate clips and media appearances that make up the majority of Thompson's content all deal with his stance on particular issues, you have to watch all of them to figure out which clip covers which issue. The same goes for the challenger response clips: viewers are generally presented with some version of the opponent's view before they get to see Thompson's stance.
For a late-entry candidate trying to make a name for himself in an already-crowded field, more clearly labeled, Thompson-centric, policy-driven clips might serve as a better foundation. Addressing the other side is a valuable tool, but it's not necessarily one to build a media campaign around.
We're down to two Republicans left, and we'll be dealing with at least one of them before the end of today. Which one? Well, you'll just have to wait and see.
Before we get back to the YouTube rounds, I thought a little link roundup might be in order. Here are the stories piquing my interest today:
- Bush administration to intelligence community – GSO. - Mike Huckabee to other candidates – kill yourselves. - Lou Dobbs to everyone – wear that fucking pin. - Amazon to willing customers - Whoop! Dart in yer neck! - Senate to bloggers – you guys are pretty ok.
The first one’s depressing, the next two are puzzling, the fourth is predictable, and the last one is a relief, I guess. It’s good to know I won’t have to reveal my sources in the event of a hypothetical “shit goes down” scenario. Something tells me they wouldn’t take to that very well.
Also, in case anyone’s interested, there’s an ongoing interactive Q&A session with this year’s presidential candidates going on now at washingtonpost.com. Participants include four of the ones already featured in my ongoing YouTube analysis project, so if you have any burning questions, by all means, fire away.
Finally, as per class instructions, here’s my entry into the independently-created candidate endorsement video. From YouTube user Shane Killian:
Am I… am I becoming a Ron Paul fanboy? Oh, the humanity.
Some candidates are known for their strong policy positions, while others rely on personality quirks to help separate them from the rest of the crowd. Then, in some years, when the mood's just right, there are the candidates who are able to get by on name alone.
This next gentleman... is not one of those candidates. His name's just silly.
Here's Mike Huckabee (R-AR).
FACT FILE: MIKE HUCKABEE ACCOUNT NAME: ExploreHuckabee NUMBER OF VIDEOS: 92 NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS: 1,097 TOTAL CHANNEL VIEWS: 206,333 TOTAL VIDEO VIEWS: 362,803
Huckabee's video content is quite different from that of the previous two candidate that we've looked at. While his early videos lay out his basic principles, the focus of the efforts quickly shifts to two key areas: personality and live coverage from Iowa. While Tancredo and Hunter both exhibited elements of this approach, neither of them took it as far as Huckabee. When you peruse his channel, however, the difference is obvious. Huckabee's campaign shies away from highlighting the same kind of powerful, if divisive, issue content that the other two seem to favor. Instead, they recast the candidate's values in the light of both his supporters and his humanity.
The Iowa videos are particularly interesting. Instead of using testimony from media talking heads or other politicians, Huckabee's campaign uses normal Iowans as the emssangers of support. They also manage to work in the ever-catchy "I Like Mike" slogan.
While some of these videos feature the same kind of language found in other, more inflammatory offerings, the use of actual citizens seems to soften the blow.
Coupled with Huckabee's focus on the everyday person is his effort to put a human face on his hilarious name. When we see Mike in the newer videos, he's rarely debating or being interviewed. Rather, he's more likely to be found doing mundane tasks, like surfing the web, or just plain rocking out:
Huckabee also takes time to address so-called liberal concerns like arts education, the first signs of cross-party appeals that we've seen so far:
Finally, on a completely unrelated note, here's another hilarious, Huckabee-connected name. Everyone, meet Chip Saltsman!
What has this feel-good, non-confrontational approach gotten Huckabee? Well, not much. Currently, despite his videos' best intentions, he trails even Hunter and Tancredo in channel and total video views. Strangely, however, he still holds an edge in total subscribers among the three. This seems to suggest that, while many people find his message palatable enough to support, his unwillingness to tackle inflammatory, divisive issues may sap his campaign of some potential coverage. I mean, I came out of this experience liking Huckabee more than I thought I would. Then again, I'm not exactly his intended audience.
Maybe that says it all.
Also, nice guys finish last. Just ask Green Day.
Tomorrow, we keep the good Republican vibrations rolling with Sam Brownback, cousin of Danger Mouse villain and anthropomorphic toad Silas Greenback.
