Fred Thompson shares the spotlight...with you. [UPDATE]
By David All, 11/09/2007 - 6:19pm

A note from Fred Thompson's modern media guru, Sean Hackbarth, alerts us to their latest UGC campaign, Be A Star.

From Sean's note explaining the program:

Fred is a bona fide star. But he's not the only star on this campaign. Each one of you is a star who believes a consistent conservative like Fred needs to be elected in 2008. In the age of YouTube anyone has the power to make a video, get people to watch it, and become a star.

We need some of your star power to spread the word about why Fred will make a great, conservative President. That's why we've launched Be a Star. Make a video telling America why you support Fred Thompson for President. Talk about how he wants to keep America strong, fight Islamist fascism, secure our borders, keep taxes low, and reform government. Tell America why Fred is a good man and a great, conservative leader. Tell everyone why they should donate to the Fred Thompson campaign.

Upload your videos. We will pick out our favorites and put them on Fred08.com. Then you can vote for your favorites.

It's easy to tear down other candidates. What we're looking for are positive videos showing why Fred should be the next President of the United States. Mention Fred's character shaped by his life experiences, his quest to end sanctuary cities, and how he has the guts to tackle the impending entitlements crisis.

Be creative. Use animation or props. Be extravagant or be simple. Sometimes a simple video full of sincerity can say as much as one filled with fancy special effects.

The only real restriction, besides telling us why you're for Fred, is your videos should be under 25 MB.

Sounds neat.

UPDATE 8:25 PM: Woops, I should have noted a similar UGC campaign launched by Rudy Giuliani last week, Why Rudy. Rudy's effort even has a nice Google maps mash-up indicating where the supporter lives.

From the site:

Tell us why you support Rudy! Send us pictures, video or text of why you think Rudy should be the next president and how you show your support from the mayor. We want to see where you’re displaying your Rudy signs, bumper stickers or gear.

In my book, the more UGC the better.

considering their current .................

...ad, the results can be anything but boring. Take a look at his latest ad at http://fred08.com/index.aspx

Making a video is a tough ask

My ForGore.com idea flopped big time last month, even though I tried to target primed netroots Gore activists. Of course, Fred Thompson's email list is sure to be a few hundred thousand by now, so hopefully they'll get some good submissions.

The process of making a web video takes at least an hour from idea to upload, while signing a petition takes a minute, and making a contribution takes five. It seems like the only way people will go through the effort of making a video is if they have a chance to be on TV, as evidenced by the success of the CNN/YouTube debate, 10Questions, and back in 2004, the MoveOn anti-Bush ad contest. But maybe this Fred Thompson effort will disprove that.

However.............

I think Fred's effort will be far more interesting. The fact that he was in Red October and Law and Order opens up opportunities for some spill over effect. (sound of one note from a piano key)



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