When it comes to politics – the first things that come to mind are economy, lobbyists, elections and votes – one of the last things might be Hollywood. However, the 2008 presidential election has proved to show anything but the opposite as the un-relentless celebrity endorsements of Mr. Barack Obama has now catapulted him straight into the white house.
Even from his first election as democratic nominee, stars were rallying behind this man – using every means possible to ensure his success. Celebrities in this category included Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder; who described him as a martin-Luther-king/president Kennedy mix, Roger Waters, Coldplay and Pearl Jam; who recently debuted their new song “Barack around the clock”.
Obama even managed to win over the heart of a popular Hollywood sex symbol Scarlett Johansson who like most of the other stars believe that if they have the spotlight – they are going to use this to shine a light on things people should be focusing on instead.
The Obama camp also set up a system in which these eager celebs could participate in events and raise money for the campaign whenever they had some free time on their hands.
At a Beverly Hills event hosted by Jeffery Katzenberg, David Geffen and Steven Spielberg they managed to raise - in one night - 1.3 million!
One unlikely supporter was the man himself, Bob Dylan who even in the 60s refused to endorse the anti-establishment groups who begged for him to be the face of their campaigns. He had a great respect for Obama and stated that he was a sign of hope for change in the USA.
All this celebrity support was made ever so clear when a music video called “Yes we can”, produced by such artists as the Black Eyed Peas and the son of Bob Dylan and featured over 30 stars was released on YouTube. The lyrics were derived from Obama’s speech at the 2008 New Hampshire primary and even won an Emmy. This phrase “yes we can” became one if not the most used and popular catch phrases of Barack Obama’s campaign.
So just when you think Hollywood only controls what you see on TV – think again.