How To Use, and Not To Use, Celebrities

One of the shortcomings of efforts aimed at young voters has been the reliance on celebrities. There's this assumption that if a famous person tells a young person to vote, he or she will vote. That's just not true.

Peer-to-peer contact is far more effective than celebrity directives. What famous people can do is help draw attention to a topic, create content that peers might forward around, and generally create some buzz.

Two weeks ago, I was critical of a "Vote" video that relied on star-power. I thought it was bland; they repeated the same quote multiple times; they had no irony nor absurdity; and they made no effort to give reasons for voting. They just kept saying platitudes, without suggesting any real connection to the issues that draw people to the polls.

I gave my prescription. And who knew: Steven Spielberg must read the comments thread on Open Left. Because he released this video that adds a new twist. The Hollywood faces are more self-effacing; they bring a level of self-awareness that makes them more human; and, in a surprisingly authentic segment, they actually tap into issues that would propel them -- and us -- to our precincts on November 4th.

It's a little long, but here it goes:

Right? Harrison Ford makes a good point. Tom Cruise comes off as not a jerk.

Compare it -- if you have a few minutes to burn -- with the other one...which got 75,000 views.

At least Hollywood learns from its mistakes. Better than we can say for many of the industries in the news these days.