"Dat's da way ya do it! Get yer money for advertising; give the hype for free!"
The Viacom MTV Networks channel -- once known for round-the-clock music videos and now home to a host of reality shows -- says it will now take political ads, though only from political candidates and party political committees, not from third parties.
As recently as the presidential primaries this year, MTV had refused all political ads, even as it has heavily promoted its "Choose or Lose" get-out-the-vote effort.
Gee. Ya think this might have something to do with the yuteful demographic the obabamantor pulls in?
Oh, no. That would be so... like...you know... like, establishment-like.
But big bucks does buy an awful lot of rationalization.
MTV's announcement of the switch follows a report in the New York Times on June 22 that Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's campaign wanted to do an MTV buy. It's also probably not a coincidence that Mr. Obama, who is opting out of public funding, will likely have plenty of money to spend on youth-directed ads. A political expert said the most immediate beneficiary of the switch is the Obama campaign.
"I think MTV's decision to accept advertising is an important indication that the youth vote this year will have a real impact on the outcome of the election," said Tad Devine, a Democratic campaign strategist who handled Sen. John Kerry's campaign four years ago. "Now campaigns have the opportunity to reach young voters in a venue where they congregate, and I'm sure Obama's campaign will look seriously at advertising there, given his advantage with young people."
D@mn, I'm good.
A big TY to ACE!
