"I Got A Crush On Obama" is a popular internet viral video, first posted on YouTube in June 2007 featuring an attractive young woman seductively singing of her love for Junior Senator of Illinois and 2008 U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama.[1] The actress, Amber Lee Ettinger, lip-synched the song for the video, and Leah Kaufmann (of "My Box in a Box" fame) provided the vocals.[2]
The concept was the brainchild of 32-year-old advertising executive Ben Relles. "I Got A Crush On Obama" was co-written and produced by Rick Friedrich[2].
The Video
On May 25 2007 Ben Relles placed an ad on the online classified website, Craigslist, seeking a music video director.[citation needed] The ad was answered by award-winning filmmakers Kevin Arbouet and Larry Strong. Filming began later that same day in and around various New York City landmarks. Arbouet and Strong co-directed and shot the entire video in about six hours. The whole film project took approximately two to three weeks.[3]
On June 13 2007 the video was posted to the popular video sharing website YouTube. The video garnered over one thousand views within the first five hours of its posting.[4] By the second day of its posting the American news media had taken notice of the videos growing popularity. Relles, Ettinger and Kauffman were featured on many television news programs.[4]
When asked about the video by the Des Moines Register on June 18, 2007, Obama said, "It’s just one more example of the fertile imagination of the internet. More stuff like this will be popping up all the time."[5]
Obama's campaign has stated he had nothing to do with the video's creation.[6]
Other notable facts
In August 2003, Ettinger was crowned Miss NYC in the Miss Hawaiian Tropic pageant. In May 2007, she was named Miss Howard TV.
Kauffman and Ettinger appeared on Fox & Friends where they claimed the video was not made for support of Barack Obama in his campaign but rather for fun. They expressed interest in making more videos of the same genre for other candidates of other parties as well. [3]
Larry Strong and Kevin Arbouet co-directed an award-winning independent feature film, Serial, starring Lauren Vélez.
The creators of the "I've Got a Crush on Obama" sold two shirts and the red shorts used in the video on an eBay auction. One of the shirts garnered $1000. Proceeds from the auction were donated to the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness. <ref [1]</ref>
References
- ^ "A Hit Shows Big Interest in Racy Material -- and Obama." Katharine Q. Seelye. New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Jun 15, 2007. pg. A.22
- ^ a b Tapper, Jake, "Music Video Has a 'Crush on Obama,'" June 13, 2007 at ABC News
- ^ a b "Video: “Obama Girl” Speaks!" June 15, 2007, Fox & Friends
- ^ a b "Music video creators have a 'crush on Obama,'" June 14, 2007, Interview with Kauffman and Relles on MSNBC.com
- ^ "Obama responds to 'crush'" Tuesday, June 19, 2007
- ^ Gibson, John, "'Crush' Video Good for Obama," Thursday, June 14, 2007, The Big Story with John Gibson