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An editorial video needs to be funny or it needs to kick ass.
Otherwise, it's usually a poor imitation of TV news that isn't
worth anyone's time.
This opinion is what guided The Wichita Eagle's editorial
staff as it produced the music video "Brownback Girl" And
it's why we weren't surprised when the video went viral--in
fact, we planned on it.
The idea for the video sprang from an editorial cartoon by our
cartoonist, Richard Crowson. He contrasted the sexy Obama and Giuliani
girls with the "girl" that our state's presidential
candidate, Senator Sam Brownback, might attract--a Church Lady-like
character.
Producing the video took some time but not a lot. I thought up the
new lyrics to Madonna's "Material Girl" song while mowing
my lawn. And Bucky Waiters was a natural choice to be Brownback Girl;
he's a local comedian known for playing women in revue shows--sort
of the Milton Berle of Wichita.
The biggest production unknown was whether we could get a church to
allow us to film in its sanctuary. But we found one on our second ask.
The video took only forty-five minutes to film, though it helped
that I planned most of the shots beforehand. Our cameraman, Eagle page
designer Rod Pocowatchit, then spent about two hours editing it.
My intent from the start was to go national, hoping to ride Obama
Girl's skimpy shirttail. And I had planned to develop a marketing
campaign to launch with the release of the video.
But the online staff at the Eagle posted the video before I was
ready, and I received my first request for a television interview about
an hour later.
My marketing then occurred on the fly and consisted mostly of news
tips sent to national blogs and national media. Fortunately, they read
their emails.
Within a week, "Brownback Girl" was mentioned on
thousands of Websites, including The Huffington Post, The Washington
Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, CBS News and ABC News.
An excerpt was aired on CNN'S "Anderson Cooper 360."
After watching the clip, Cooper deadpanned: "I don't think
Brownback Girl is a girl."
Between YouTube and the Eagle's Website, the video has been
viewed more than 75,000 times. I don't know how many hundreds of
thousands of people saw clips on television.
And the video continues to pop up in the news.
For example, about two months after its release, National Public
Radio played an excerpt of the song--the second time it had done so. I
appreciated the publicity, but a Boston University professor on the
program said that the video wasn't a parody, that it was actually
in support of Brownback.
I responded to NPR with this: When a guy in a dress sings "Sam
loves stem cells, wants gays in jail," it's a spoof.
Since filming "Brownback Girl," we've produced
several other satirical videos. One of them, "Coal-Lovin'
Governor," helped force our governor to take a stand on a proposed
coal-fired power plant. It also was shown at the Kansas International
Film Festival in Kansas City.
Though I have received few complaints about these videos, I'm
sure some people question whether it is appropriate for a newspaper to
produce them. But I view the videos as just another of the many ways we
express opinions--albeit one that has received a lot more attention than
our usual fare.
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Phillip Brownlee is The Wichita Eagle's opinion editor. Email
pbrownlee@wichitaeagle.com
COPYRIGHT 2007 National Conference of Editorial
Writers Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2007, Gale Group. All rights
reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.