“I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead,” says celebrity Paris Hilton in a tongue-in-cheek online video reply to the advertisment launched by John McCain last week. In the commercial, the Republican candidate compares Democratic rival Barack Obama – described as “the biggest celebrity in the world†– with lightweight stars, using photos of Hilton and Britney Spears to illustrate the point. Relaxing by a pool and wearing a leopard-print bathing suit, complemented by golden stilettos, Hilton fights back, launching her own campaign to the soon-to-be pink White House.
Speaking directly to the camera, Hilton woos the American public saying:
“Hey America, I’m Paris Hilton and I’m a celebrity too, only I’m not from the olden days and I’m not promising change like that other guy. I’m just hot!
But then that wrinkly white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which I guess means I’m running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude, and I want America to know I’m, like, totally ready to lead.”
The hotel heiress, better known for partying than politics, describes McCain as “the oldest celebrity in the world, like super-old, old enough to remember when dancing was a sin and beer was served in a bucket.” Hilton talks about her plans for the energy crisis, appoints her Vice-President and leaves a message for Obama and McCain: “I'll see you at the debates bitches.” Needless to say, this is a spoof ad, though reactions have been strong with many having a good laugh at the video as well as at the outsmarted candidates – Obama and MacCain.
Canadian blogger Stephen Taylor analyses how “wild cards” like celebrity endorsements can cause a political campaign to stir:
In election campaigns, its impossible to predict the wildcards such as the Ludacris endorsement. Further it’s the nature of the race that Obama would have to respond carefully to McCain “Celeb†ad by allegedly canceling on Kanye. Equally as unpredictable is this response by Hilton, which is more tangential to the core, but more viral among those with a surface view of the presidential race so far. While insiders will dismiss this as fodder for Entertainment Tonight and Jay Leno, though that’s where the populace is watching. And for McCain it’s unfortunate that Obama is popular.
In a post called “Paris Hilton Makes Me Want To Be American”, another Canadian blogger, Chantelle Oliver says that this election is in fact a no-win battle between a “husk of old politics and the a giant question mark of technology shifting”:
Neither choice is soothing. We face failure on one hand and the unknown on the other. And while exploiting her youth and sexuality, contextualized, Paris’ video makes a much more salient point: American politicians are just celebrities who are humourless, rich, and repetitive. Promising “experience†or “change†is about as democratically deep as being totally hot. And while rich and repetitive, Paris is wise enough to hire writers who are insanely more amusing.
In a post filed under “F*** America”, Jenn confesses she likes Paris Hilton and comments on the ad battle:
First, to McCain: really? Am I supposed to be impressed by this faulty logic? Of course Obama is popular, he’s running for President, nitwit. If he really wanted to, I guess Obama could attack you for being a household name too. Except, that’s kind of a stupid idea, because being popular when you are running for President is not exactly a bad thing, you know.
Apparently, Obama is popular in the exact same way Paris Hilton is. Oddly enough, for me, I like Paris more than I like Obama. Wait, what? I suppose this is because Paris Hilton is not threatening in the slightest, whereas Obama has the potential to run this country into the ground if he so chooses.
Patrix, from India, believes that Hilton's solution for energy independence “actually sounds much better than the two guys” and responds to a comment on his Nerve Endings Firing Away blog saying that Obama and McCain were both losers in the face of Hilton's parody:
isn’t it a shameful day for a presidential candidate when Paris Hilton sounds more positive and intelligent. Did you hear about that McCain spokesman who now has the gall to claim that Paris is more credible than Obama. Perhaps they should pick her as Veep.
On the other hand, Not a Sheep, from the UK, thinks that the viral campaign might be a little help for Obama:
Which one would I support if I had a vote, I think still McCain but Paris Hilton has just leapfrogged Barack Obama…
Eduardo Arcos [es] from Mexican blog aggregator alt1040, also believes that the video is beneficial for Obama:
…y con este video es posible que Paris Hilton sea una pequeña parte de la razón por la cual Obama gané, de ahora en adelante cualquier nuevo spot polÃtico de McCain va a ser motivo de risa, después de todo inclusive una rubia que va de tonta es capaz de ponerlo en ridÃculo.
… and with this video, Paris Hilton is possibly a small part of the reason why Obama will win as from now on any new political plot by McCain will be motive for laughter. After all, even a blonde taken as stupid was able to ridicule him.
As of today, Hilton's faux campaign clip is one of the top stories on Google News and has had more than 3,300,000 views, nearly 7,000 diggs and more than 1,200 comments in 24 hours. Reactions are continuing.
4 comments
I think that it’s a very smart way to get back at McCain. It’s nice to see humor in politics. You may not like Paris, but this was a very interesting thing to pull off.
On a side note, I would prefer to hear the candidates speak of real issues instead of playing around with who’s a celebrity and who isn’t.
yet again Paris uses events to give herself another PR boost… she’s a thinker alright