MySpace Celebrity and Katalyst present The Presidential Pledge
Celebrities and musicians recorded a video to promote USAService.org, a website and organization started by the Obama administration to help Americans find volunteer opportunities and think about change on a personal and local level. Like all of the websites launched by Obama’s people, it’s attractive, easy to use and to the point. USAService is another example of Obama’s technology team expertly using the Internet to help bring people together and make a difference for a worthy cause.
Video was made by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher without direct input by Obama’s camp
While the website is Obama’s, the video was made an independent project by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. Moore and Kutcher explained in a video available on Oprah.com that they “realized how powerful and influential our voice could be” after campaigning for Obama and wanted to “dedicate the rest of our lives to… the abolition of 21st century slavery,” which includes “human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children.” Moore said she felt inspired by Obama’s call to action. The way they explained it, the video was made without much input or even a direct request by Obama’s people. They just called all their friends, who were happy and excited to help.
Now that Obama is about to be sworn in as the 44th President, the tone of these celebrity endorsement videos is changing from earnest hope urging us to make a change to add a little tongue in cheek humor. There’s something about this video that’s like a parody of these type of videos, but maybe that’s Moore and Kutcher’s style, and it’s also a trend now after Funny or Die. While this clip starts out slick enough, maybe a little too slick with the overuse of animated text, it adds some humor for levity. My favorite is around the 2:30 mark when Jason Bateman pledges to “flush only after a deuce, never a single.” This is similar to then NYC mayor Ed Koch’s famous motto during the late 80s water crisis: “If it’s brown, flush it down, if it’s yellow, let it mellow.”
In the four minute video, celebrities list off simple ways we can make a difference in our communities and the environment, including meeting our neighbors, using less plastic bags and bottled water, and smiling more. At the end we’re urged to “Be the Change That We Seek” It’s a well packaged message for a nation and world that needs some help right now, one person at a time. It may be a little corny and over the top, but that seems to be how a lot of people are feeling right now.
According to The Huffington Post, where we first saw the video, some of the featured celebrities include Cameron Diaz, Hayden Panetierre, Laura Linney, Dakota Fanning, Jaime Pressley, Ashlee Simpson, Nicole Richie, Ashton Kutcher, Tobey Maguire, Diddy, Alyssa Milano, Marisa Tomei, Courteney Cox and David Arquette.
That’s great. However…
Isn’t it a little ooky (dictatorship-y) to pledge service to Barack Obama? Today he is pledging his service to us as a nation. We should be pledging our service to our nation, not to our nation’s leader.
Oh sure Diddy, I’ll turn my lights off for a healthier environment. How many cars do you own again..?
It’s a bit rich this crap coming from a bunch of rich people who with their huge mansions are using 1000 times the energy of a regular household, and who are BY FAR the biggest consumers.
Please! I’ve always volunteered and I’ve always tried to be a plus to this world (get it dumb celebrities? WORLD) and not a negative. See, that’s the difference between having an education and then not, like these shallow, narcissistic celebrities. They should be pledging to themselves to get an online degree in liberal arts. I agree with the commenter above about Diddy. Now? Now he’s pledging to turn off the lights? Dur, I’m so mortified for all of these celebs in the above vid. We are way ahead of them. Most of us have been living our lives like this anyway but they feel they need to tell us what we’ve known all along anyway. Pfft.
Demi should be pledging not to partake in Hollywood Nepotism and forcing us to have to look at her daughter.
Ya know, you just have to laugh at these celebs, like Paltrow, Moore, etc. who live in their own little world and preach to the public not realizing that there’s a whole world out there who is better educated and smarter than them.
Their target audience isn’t those who are “better educated and smarter” than them. These celebrities are talking to the millions of people who listened to them when they campaigned, who make them famous, who are likely to think about things more since people they admire, for whatever uneducated and stupid reason you want to think, are bringing it their attention.
Congratulations to all of you who are so far above the status quo, but I see not one thing wrong with these, or any people, reaching the masses that aren’t as advanced as you. Maybe your pledge should be not to be such an intellectual snob.
Thanks for the post, its good to know about this.
loved the post, cheers!