She’s still ‘Got a crush on Obama’
Enough time has passed since the primary election that it’s officially OK to admit that the first time you heard the name Barack Obama was when you were on YouTube at work and your buddy sent you a link to the video “I’ve got a Crush on Obama” with the note: “LOL.”
Back in 2007 when Ben Relles came up with the idea of “Obama Girl,” he had no idea how much media attention the images of a lip-synching girl in a bikini would bring to the Obama campaign.
“Several pundits have commented that our video will be more memorable five years from now than any of Barack Obama’s TV ads,” says Relles. Relles now makes political satire videos full time for his Web site, www.barelypolitical.com.
The videos have been accused of both hurting and helping the Obama campaign, and while the point is moot now, the fun of superimposing a pretty girl next to our President has not lost its charm.
“Our video is, more than anything, one example of how a lot of the support and advocacy he garnered as a candidate came at a grassroots level,” says Relles.
Lucky for Relles, he found Amber Lee Ettinger to play Obama Girl. Unlike the rest of the unenlightened YouTube dwellers, Ettinger had discovered Obama on another popular, all-American news outlet.
“I had seen him on Oprah,” says Ettinger. “I liked what he had to say.”
She may have been diplomatic back then, never revealing whom she was voting for, but now that the man who made her famous is president, she’s a die-hard fan.
“He’s always being superimposed next to me in my videos, so I feel like I know him!” says Ettinger. “I guess the craziest thing is I’m not just Amber Lee Ettinger, I’m Obama Girl.”
Her self-awareness makes us envious. Keep the videos coming, Obama Girl. Let’s laugh/ogle at you for the next four years.
Sarah Shanfield/Metro
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