- Share This Post
- submit
- 4
-
Sparkle (0)
I'm not much of a political junkie, but I am all for silliness -- and the attack ad GOP senatorial prospect Carly Fiorina (who sometimes blogs at BlogHer) released last week raises the bar for silly. It's been dubbed "The Demon Sheep" and FCINO (standing for "Fiscal Conservative in Name Only" -- drubbing rival Tom Campbell's spending record). But who cares about economic policy when there are SHEEP? Sheep rising on pedestals with Web 1.0 graphics, sheep chewing nervously, and the "wolf in sheep's clothing" that caps the ad (for the easily bored, he makes his first appearance about 2:26).
So how did a three-plus-minute opus worthy of the Super Bowl Vizio commercial or the Internet meme timeline make it into the stately discourse of politics?
The spot's creator is Fred Davis III, the auteur behind the famous '08 ad comparing Obama with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears:
Davis told the LA Times the demon sheep costume cost $200 and the role was played by a lowly crew member: "Not a professional sheep impersonator or anything like that."
Davis isn't a stranger to low-budge mammal malevolence: In 2002, he created an ad for Georgia's then-candidate now-Governor Sonny Perdue, portraying incumbent Roy Barnes as a Godzilla-stomping giant rat/"wily ol' trial lawyer."
But the Demon Sheep is definitely Davis's opus, and it's touched a chord around the internet:
It's been set to "Dark Side of the Moon."
The demon sheep cavort to a "Also Sprach Zarathustra"/"Yakety Sax" medley:
Hitler gets informed about demon sheep:
Of course, the media flocked to comment:
Rachel Maddow "lamb-basted" Fiorina ...
... while Keith Olbermann addressed the stoners:
Good news for the silly: Fiorina spokesperson Julie Soderlund told the Daily Beast, "We can expect to see equally if not more shocking Web-based ads or videos coming from our campaign moving forward."
Bloggers' reactions to the spot so far have been … flabbergasted. Fausta calls it "Proof politicians are insane," while Karoli at Momocrats deems it "The ad your children should never see."
But what do you think?
