'Does Emma Stone think I should vote? What about John Krasinski?': Comedy Central mocks star-studded 'get out the vote' PSAs with video of Americans asking: 'How will I know if I should vote if celebrities don't tell me to?' (8 Pics)
Comedy Central poked fun at star-studded campaigns aimed at convincing people to turn out at the polls in its own 'get out the vote' video.
The cable channel launched its #ShouldWeVote campaign on Thursday with the video of people sarcastically speculating what they'd do without the guidance of the rich and famous.
The video hinges on the question: 'How will I know if I should vote if celebrities don't tell me to?'
By flipping the narrative of voting videos designed to draw attention purely through the use of star power, Comedy Central's public service announcement guides viewers to ask a bigger question: 'Why am I voting?'
As with the traditional celebrity 'get out the vote' campaigns, Comedy Central's video cuts from speaker to speaker as the actors say: 'On November 6, there's an election. You might be thinking: "Wow, a new president already?"
'No. This is not a presidential election. It's the midterms. Senators, congress people, governors and local officials.
'All Americans are asking themselves the same questions: Should I vote? How will I know if I should vote if celebrities don't tell me to?'
One person asks: 'Does Emma Stone think I should vote?' followed by another who says: 'What about John Krasinski? Have you guys seen A Quiet Place?'
A succession of actors respond: 'Yes, but that's not what this is about right now. It's about celebrities telling regular Americans that they have to vote.
'Many normal Americans like us don't know what we should do until celebrities tell us what to do.'
To emphasize that point, one woman asks: 'Should I moisturize?' to which a man responds: 'Jennifer Aniston says you should,' referring to the actress's multiple skincare endorsements.
'That's a yes, but should we vote?' another woman asks.
'Some people are calling this the most important election of our lives. But they aren't famous,' a man responds.
'Chris Tucker, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Will Smith, should I vote?' he asks.
'Tom Holland, Tom Hardy, Thomas the Tank Engine, should I vote?' another says.
The other actors then call out to a string of celebrities, asking the same question.
'Barbara Streisand, Barbara Walters, all the Barbaras? Ethyl Merman? The Harlem Globetrotters? Angela Bassett? Kylie Jenner's baby? Bruno Mars? The cast of Riverdale?' they ask before one says:
'Your silence is deafening.'
The video ends with a message telling viewers to tag their favorite celebrity and ask them the question: 'Should I vote?'
The PSA ends by telling viewers to tag their favorite celebrity and ask them if they should vote
Comedy Central's new vice president of social impact strategy, Erika Soto Lamb, said the cable channel wanted to find 'a new, and different, and super-funny way to reach Americans ahead of the critically important midterm elections', which are only four days away on Tuesday.
'We wanted to give them something that they could use to share and drive up social conversations so it's not just them voting, but also everyone they know voting, which then has this much broader effect of getting people to the polls,' Soto Lamb said.
'This PSA isn't a harpy, go vote message. It's also done in a really funny way that I hope will be well-received by our audience.'
Hollywood icons from Taylor Swift to Zoe Kravitz to Chadwick Boseman have come out in full force over the last several months, frequently popping up in social media feeds to remind people to head to the polls.
Earlier this week a group of female stars including Cher, Lily Tomlin, Ellen Pompeo and Olivia Munn appeared in a PSA directed by Jodie Foster that was shared widely across Twitter and Facebook.
At the beginning of October another star-studded group including Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, and Don Cheadle, were joined by Parkland mass shooting survivors for a tongue-in-cheek video about their 'first time' voting to encourage young people to register.
Many celebrities have also been posting selfies with their early voting ballots as if to put their money where their mouths are.
While its impossible to directly measure the impact of celebrities endorsing voting, one star did appear to make waves with her 'go vote' message.
Taylor Swift was credited with a colossal spike in voted registration during the month of October after she posted an impassioned endorsement of Democratic candidates, breaking her long tradition of silence when it comes to politics.
Vote.org saw 65,000 voter registrations in the 24-hour period after Swift's October 7, more than double the number of voters registered in the entire month of August, with 56,669 having signed up that month and 190,178 in September.
Swift's Instagram post was just two days before the October 9 deadline to register to vote in her home state of Tennessee, which saw a big spike as well.
Taylor Swift was credited with a massive spike in voter registrations in October after she revealed she will be endorsing Democratic candidates in an Instagram postMany celebrities, including actors Emily Blunt and John Krasinski (pictured), have also been posting selfies with their early voting ballots as a reminder to head to the polls on November 6
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds pose with their early voting ballots before sending them off
Camila Cabello announced that she'd voted in the state of Florida in an Instagram on Thursday
Kesha also reminded her fan base to be educated about their state's voting requirements
Kerry Washington tweeted that exercising her right to vote 'felt so good' on Friday afternoon
'Does Emma Stone think I should vote? What about John Krasinski?': Comedy Central mocks star-studded 'get out the vote' PSAs with video of Americans asking: 'How will I know if I should vote if celebrities don't tell me to?' (8 Pics)
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November 03, 2018
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