Here's Niall's report...
As a regular browser of your blog, I was surprised to see you make an appearance on Australian television earlier tonight!I just can't believe that nearly FOUR years later, that my first campaign commercial for Board of Education is still making waves! That wasn't something that I saw happening at all :-)A regular part-humorous, part-analytical & highly popular program on our national broadcaster (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC) is normally called the "Gruen Transfer", and unveils and discusses the techniques behind commercial advertising. However, we are in the final throes of a federal election, for which the "Gruen Transfer" has become the "Gruen Nation", with a series of specials focusing on the techniques of political advertising in particular. Tonight they showed your infamous Star Wars ad, although in the comments afterwards they unfortunately didn't raise the copyright issue that you fought and won.
Niall says that it's Gruen Nation Series 1 Episode 4 and that you can watch it here at ABC1's website for the next 14 days. Unfortunately I won't get to see myself on Australian TV 'cuz the site only lets you watch streaming vids if you're in, of all places, Australia! Gonna see if I can find a copy floating around the Internets to download via torrent or whatever.
Thanks for the heads-up Niall. And to all of y'all visiting The Knight Shift from Australia today: welcome! Hope y'all like what you find here :-)
EDIT 4:25 p.m. EST: Good friend Brian Fesperman reports that you can watch the show stateside! Click here to check it out and you won't have to wait long 'cuz it's the very first spot they run. They ran the entire commercial... including all of Melody Hallman Daniel's dramatically awesome voiceover!
And after seeing it at last I am chuckling too much for one's own good. Especially giggling at host Wil Anderson's line about "I really wish his favorite movie had been Boogie Nights!" and saying that Kevin Rudd "would have been more convincing if you'd been holding a lightsaber!" You can also download the whole show in MP4 or WMV format for later viewing.
What more can be said? I'm thoroughly delighted that I got to be a small part of Oz's political landscape this season... and that my ad brought some good-hearted laughter to Down Under from Rockingham County, North Carolina :-)
Why are you surprised at this? You made a great ad that used humor to drive a serious point and it wasn't negative. It's everything that TV political ads should be but aren't!
ReplyDeleteGoing to run for office again? I'd vote for you even though I'm in Kansas :)
Thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteRun for office again? I don't know. If for no other reason than because - I know of no plainer way to put it than this - politics has become boring to me.
I am much more interested in ideas, whereas modern politics is about ideologies. And I've arrived at a point where the fake "conservative"/"liberal" divide has become totally meaningless. It's all a distraction. A sideshow, taking our attention away from the things that seriously matter.
Four years later and I'm still proud of how I ran that campaign, because I ran as myself. With no compromises. Every vote, I earned and I'm thankful for. As much as I'd admit it would be a neat challenge to run for office again, even something higher... well, I don't see sincerely independent-minded people being welcome in any party.
But that's okay. I've also learned that you don't have to be elected to anything to change the world for the better.
And in my own way, however small it might be, I am thankful for the opportunity to be doing that here :-)
Saw this on Gruen! Terrific ad!
ReplyDeleteLol I still remember when you had to DEFEND your right to post your own commercial ...
ReplyDeleteDude we both need to run for office again and take this place back ...