You gotta love celebrities. They are absolutely shameless in their quest to jump on the bandwagon of the “it” cause of the moment. And since the election is the trendiest thing in Hollywood since going green, countless celebs—from Jessica Alba to Madonna—are flocking to YouTube to beg you to vote (by which, of course, they mean vote for Barack Obama).
Some of these public service announcements are actually pretty hilarious (Jonah Hill’s stance on family planning: “I got 19 kids—never used abortion once”). And even the earnest Rock the Vote song is pretty catchy. But if I see one more PSA with Gossip Girl actors telling me to vote...or not to vote...or head to Florida to eat kugel with my grandparents until they vote for Obama...I may just flee the country.
Will they make a difference? Does it matter? Here are my nine favorite ’08 celebrity get-out-the-vote videos.
Madonna creates a provocative video to get our attention...shocker!
While globe-trotting for her latest tour, the material mom decided to give us a history lesson. Hitler, Castro, McCain = Bad. JFK, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Obama = Good. Get it? In case you missed that oh-so-subtle message, set to three minutes of her latest single, she also gave a shoutout during a concert last week at Madison Square Garden: “You know who’s not invited to my party? Sarah-fucking-Palin!”
Earnest liberal rockers cram their agenda down your throat.
If you thought Madonna’s video was hit-me-over-the-head-with-a-meat-cleaver obvious in its liberal agenda, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. This 30-second spot manages to pack in gay marriage, Guantanamo detainees, homelessness, and the Iraq war.
Twenty-five really hot celebrities tell you not to vote over and over again.
Sarcasm is almost as trendy as filming voter PSAs right now. Otherwise, how would they have convinced every currently unemployed Hollywood actor to appear all in one video? The lineup includes everyone from Jennifer Aniston and Halle Berry to Leonardo DiCaprio and Dustin Hoffman.
Everyone who’s not in the “don’t vote” video partners with Gap.
Sad that the celebrity film-a-thon at Leo’s house left out six people in Hollywood? Well, have no fear: Everyone who missed out on the “don’t vote” video teamed up with Gap to film their own green-screen voter PSA series. Celebs include Perez Hilton, Kristen Bell, Bill Maher, Minka Kelly, Mark Cuban, and more.
Christina Aguilera channels Betsy Ross.
Mr. Ashlee Simpson doesn’t have a lot of stage presence.
This one, by Pete Wentz, is so terrible it cracked me up for 15 minutes.
This video is so overplayed, even your grandmother has seen it.
Oy gevalt, you have to give this woman credit. Sarah Silverman is an equal opportunity offender. Nothing is off-limits, nothing is sacred, not even little old bubbe down in Florida. So what if granny accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan in 2000? If you haven’t seen this video yet, it’s because you’re either living under a rock or you have no Jewish friends. Regardless, I think this one is the most original and innovative of the lot, partly because she actually manages to make voting funny and partly because I just returned from Florida, where I spent an entire evening arguing politics with my own Jewish grandparents.
Jessica Alba dons dominatrix gear in the name of democracy
Is it possible to feel embarrassed for someone you’ve never actually met? If so, that pretty accurately describes how I felt watching this clip.
Is Hayden even old enough to vote?