Obama team uses LBi to create user generated campaign site

by Alex Donohue, Brand Republic 22-Feb-08, 09:10

LONDON - Digital agency LBi International has launched a campaign site for US democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, featuring user generated content and interactive videos.

The site, HopeActChange.com, was created by LBi International's Syrup agency.

It aims to garner support for Obama's head-to-head campaign to win the Democratic presidential nomination against New York senator Hillary Clinton, by inviting visitors to show support for their candidate.

HopeActChange allows visitors to submit their own photos in support of Illinois junior senator Obama.

Users can view video content created by filmmakers Jesse Dylan and Mike Jurkovac, who worked on US rapper Will.I.Am's video in support of Obama, for the 'YesWeCanSong'.

Syrup said the campaign site would feature user generated content and collaborative work, including an interactive version of Will.I.Am's promotional video for the 'YesWeCanSong' -- allowing visitors to upload their own Flickr photos to become thumbnails in the video's mosaic design.

Robert Holzer, chief executive officer of Syrup, said: "The site will grow and evolve, building on the concepts of collective intelligence and the power of online collaborative ideas, which is something that we have been exploring at every level of our work with our clients.

"This gives us the platform to express these ideas on a national and even international level."

The two remaining Democrat candidates took part in a live TV debate on CNN last night to gain votes for the key Texas primary nomination on March 4 -- a state viewed as crucial to winning the nomination, because it has 161 delegate votes.

Obama currently leads Clinton after winning the last 10 primaries in a row, including the Wisconsin primary, Hawaiian caucus, and Washington state primary.

Clinton came across as the underdog last night, despite being the front runner for so long. She raised the issue of plagiarism, after Obama is accused of using many of the same words used by one of his friends, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

In a speech, Obama said: "Don't tell me words don't matter! 'I have a dream.' Just words. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' Just words. 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' Just words, just speeches."

Clinton made the charge that words and change are at the centre of Obama's appeal, which presents a problem if the words are not his but borrowed from someone else.