‘Funny or Die,’ celebrities promoting healthcare law. Will it work?
Hollywood is gearing to help with ensure the success of President Obama’s healthcare law.
The Times’ Maeve Reston reported Saturday on the effort.
Mike Farah and his team at Funny or Die studios are developing as many as 20 projects involving the healthcare law. The first will go live Sept. 30, the day before Americans are supposed to be able to enroll in the new health insurance marketplaces.
Such efforts are just one small piece of a broad-reaching campaign by the Obama administration and the consortium of industry and nonprofit groups working to get at least 7 million Americans enrolled in the next six months.
The Funny or Die website claims 19 million unique users and more than 60 million video views each month, and its demographic strength overlaps perfectly with the young people who must sign up for the healthcare law in order for it to succeed. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that young people will make up 40% of those who sign up.
The website’s video featuring Paris Hilton’s response to Sen. John McCain’s 2008 campaign ad framing Obama as “the biggest celebrity in the world” snagged 11 million views.
Farah’s drive stems from a series of White House meetings, culminating in a July session in the Roosevelt Room in which the president asked for help promoting the law from a conference table full of artists, entertainers and creative executives including Farah, Amy Poehler, Jason Derulo, Michael Cera and Jennifer Hudson.
What do you think of this effort? Share your thoughts below.
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