c2meworld.com: Yesterday, an episode of Zack Galifianakis’ hilariously awkward web show Between Two Ferns hit the web with a very special guest star: President Barack Obama. It was funny, an instant viral success, and managed to plug the Affordable Care Act in one fell swoop. But how the heck did the show’s creators manage to book the president?
9 comments:
This interview was wonderfully awkward which is part of Zach's specialty. I also think it is always a bit surprising when the president of the United States is sassy or funny in ANY way considering he seems to have the least fun job ever. I am not surprised that the key to booking the president was advertising, that is how everything seems to happen in the world of televised events and interviews.
I think that the article pointed out something really interesting, which is that Obama knows how to reach a younger audience more than any other president. Normally, I would say here this president has done this and Obama has done something else, but no president has ever, as far as I know, ever tried to make contact with a younger crowd. What's interesting is that Obama has made so much better use all across the board of the internet, talking to younger people, raising issues that pertain more to younger people. I agree that maybe for him it was a bit easier to do because he had a direct pipeline with the community of younger people, but his efforts, I think, have been well-received, which will give him great political advantages in the coming years.
I really enjoyed reading the full article, especially how the director, Zach, and Obama interacted during the shooting. I do believe there is a sense of mysticism or exclusivity around the president, as there maybe should be, so to see him in a somewhat exposed or vulnerable way is really interesting. I am impressed that the White House "stayed out of the way" when it came to collaborating on a video that was typical of the Between the Ferns series rather than a skewed political advertisement. It is very true that the target audience probably isn't up Sunday mornings watching a talk show, so it was smart to use a more accessible media that has the ability to go viral.
Although it definitely makes since from an advertising perspective, I can't believe that they managed to pull this off successfully. President Obama has done tremendously well during his presidency in communicating to different demographics on their turf in their language. He has already spent time on the Internet talking to and empowering people as well. Examples such as the "We the People" petition website which allows citizens to voice their concerns directly to their Government and even doing an "Ask Me Anything" on the popular website Reddit, where he responded to user's questions about any and all topics. It is really neat to see the President communicating with the people he represents directly, instead of through the usual many degrees of abstraction that exist.
To be honest, I love seeing the POTUS in the media and in things like this. I think it shows us how you can be a strong leader and still be a great person at the end of the day. Barack Obama on SNL was one of the funniest things I've seen on the show in a while. Even though he wasn't the president then, it's great to see him on TV connecting with his voters. Along the same lines as Michael, there's an air of exclusivity around the present. While this might be good for safety's sake, when it comes to voting, I'd much rather have a president who was equal parts knowledgable and fun.
I wonder why he chose to come on this show instead of any of the other number of ones that are equally as funny. Personally, it feels like i have never been as big fan of awkward pause humor, in preference of smart humor. I however do like that the white house had the sense of humor to swallow that, and I especially enjoyed hearing about how the process that happened with the shoot was a legitimate one, not micromanaged for political correctness.
I think that president obama is an extremely smart man. Obviously he took a big risk going on the show because he was walking a thin line between being thought of as a joke and actually getting his message out, but as the article said he really knows how to reach a younger audience. In the end, it doesnt matter what the old white guys on fox news think about it, if the video of basically obama plugging the benefits of the ACA goes viral and is well received by the bulk of the younger generation who the president is really targeting with the act in the first place.
This was a fairly elegant solution to a problem which the president is facing right now, How to get information about the new healthcare system out to the general public. If you advertise directly to the general public most people will just ignore it. People don't like to be advertised at so one of the better working methods is to trick people into watching advertisements. It may be a bit sneaky but it works pretty well.
I find it amazingly interesting at how willing the President and the White House were to go along with this. It was an incredibly risky move that could have resulted in terrible feedback. Comedy is always a very thin line and it is hard to go about gracefully. If you go too far on one side of the line, then you're going to either not be funny or seriously offend somebody. It says a lot about the writers that they achieved the perfect balance. Their work definitely payed off in the wide acceptance by multiple audiences.
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