Forget It

The new JibJab presidential campaign spot (which aired on Leno last night) is a retrograde, woefully cornball, second-tier thing at best. "My Land" was a huge phenomenon four years ago, but this time out the JibJabbers guys are mainly trying to recycle and photo-copy. What kills it for me is (a) a yokel-cornball streak a mile wide and (b) a sophmoric and simplistic anti-Obama attitude.


The new spot is called "Time For Some Campaignin'" (a riff on Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'"). The rhetorical point is that politicians do the same dance every year, telling us what we want to hear, and we pay for it to the tune of billions. Generically cynical, no edge or innovation, over and out.

Flaw #1: they've used a twangy-ass banjo again, aping the country tone of the "My Land" spot. Flaw #2: the JibJab guys have no specific Barack Obama vs. John McCain point to make except for a standard contest of a hearts-and-flowers liberal vs. a snarly-voiced warmongering conservative, which is a fairly sloppy observation at this stage of the game. Flaw #3: a good 50% to 60% of the spot uses old or so-what? material -- i.e., the Bushies are on their way out, a recap of Hillary's failed campaign (an allusion to her 2012 ambitions, Bill's randy-ness with a Monica-resembling brunette) and so on. Flaw #4: it depicts Obama as a Snow White or Bambi fantasist living in an animated Polyanna world -- an allusion to the criticisms of his "Yes We Can!" phase that BHO didn't offer specific policies -- which shows the spot to be at least three or four months out of date. Flaw #5: the guy who voices Obama doesn't sound like him in the least. Flaw #6: the guy who voices McCain sounds like a mixture of Brian Dennehy, Louis Armstrong and Foghorn Leghorn.

And the interactive online software that supposedly allows you to put your own head shot in the animated cartoon doesn't work. I clicked on the damn green button eight or nine times.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 16, 2008 at 8:49 AM

comment #1

Bocephus Author Profile Page says ...

These were never funny.

Posted by Bocephus Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 8:58 AM

comment #2

Richardson Author Profile Page says ...

I have to guess you spent more time writing that blog entry than the video took to run.

Posted by Richardson Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 9:33 AM

comment #3

Mark Author Profile Page says ...

sort of unfair to call it out-of-date. This thing wasn't done overnight, and thus can't really hit hard themes that haven't already been broached by Colbert and Stewart. it's meant to broadly capture the whole campaign, not be cutting edge current.

I did laugh two or three times, but you're right about the voices. Should have cherrypicked the talent from Smigel's The Obama Files.

Posted by Mark Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 10:01 AM

comment #4

Geoff Author Profile Page says ...

I actually thought the funniest part was Obama in fairytale land like in a Shrek film. You're right in saying it's not exactly original though. The Primary has left a big stain.

There was a recent article in the NY Times about how hard it is to make a joke about Obama. I'd say that's true of this whole campaign so far. McCain being old makes sense of course, but it's an easy one.

Posted by Geoff Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 10:06 AM

comment #5

thevisceral Author Profile Page says ...

Everyone's afraid to really make fun of Obama...they don't want to be labelled racist. He's the most bulletproof candidate imaginable, which makes him fairly dangerous.

Posted by thevisceral Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 10:27 AM

comment #6

BurmaShave Author Profile Page says ...

"Time For Some Campaignin'" (a riff on Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'").

I just maid a groan loud enough to get stares. What did you expect from something that runs on Leno? He hasn't been funny since he tried to start out as the hip guy with the jazz band and no tie.

Posted by BurmaShave Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 12:21 PM

comment #7

BurmaShave Author Profile Page says ...

Actually Wells why are you fucking with this corny shit at all? I'm about to scream.

Posted by BurmaShave Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 12:23 PM

comment #8

MovieBob Author Profile Page says ...

Not as funny as "This Land" primarily because neither candidate is as immediately cartoonish as Bush or Kerry. Obama hasn't been around long enough to have much to mock in his background, and McCain is too milquestoast - even his SCANDALS are boring.

What's kind of funny, though, is that it kind of inadvertently highlights just how polarized the respective basis actually are in terms of actual worldview in that the "negative" images of each guy here could be turned into a "pro" image for their side by dialing it back just a FRACTION: That shot of McCain leading the obscenely huge army phalanx, one step "back," is a wet dream for his key voting base. And Obama as a fantasy figure surrounded by unicorns and fairy-folk? Yeah... you'll NEVER get `em to admit it, but to a lot of his fans that's really damn close to how they feel about him.

Posted by MovieBob Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 12:51 PM

comment #9

buckzollo Author Profile Page says ...

disagree homie; obama in la la land was hilarious
GEAUXBAMA!!

Posted by buckzollo Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 2:46 PM

comment #10

saramie Author Profile Page says ...

I read this news and more comments on the forum page of the tall dating site TALLMEET.com, where many tall models, tall sportsmen and tall admirers flirting.

Posted by saramie Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 5:53 PM

comment #11

supertaster Author Profile Page says ...

...and all the great minds at MSNBC are atwitter and giggling like gay school girls.

Posted by supertaster Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 6:54 PM

comment #12

gansibele Author Profile Page says ...

Ah, it's brilliant. You just don't like it because it makes fun of your idol (with the funniest lyrics by the way). The banjo is a constant in Jib Jab videos.

Posted by gansibele Author Profile Page at July 16, 2008 9:18 PM

comment #13

Bob Violence Author Profile Page says ...

JibJab is a toilet. Crap animation, crap music, satire that's about as pertinent and incisive as that DJ computer on The Simpsons ("How about those clowns in Congress? What a bunch of clowns")...just staggering ineptitude on every level bar self-promotion. Their finest moment was when they started charging $2-3 for the privilege of downloading the original "This Land" video, even though it was still freely viewable and downloadable by anyone who could take the five seconds to figure out how to save inline SWFs.

Posted by Bob Violence Author Profile Page at July 17, 2008 2:29 AM

comment #14

xiaoguo Author Profile Page says ...

Everyone's afraid to really make fun of Obama...they don't want to be labelled racist. He's the most bulletproof candidate imaginable, which makes him fairly dangerous.
thislifes
gootoo
qinao

Posted by xiaoguo Author Profile Page at January 6, 2011 10:49 PM

comment #15

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