Tag: funny videos

Hitler finds out he’s pulled from YouTube

~ Jim Eltringham ~ 1 Comment

Downfall is the movie about the final days of the Third Reich.  But of course, many of us know it for its climatic scene of Adolf Hitler’s bunker tantrum – which has been re-subtitled on YouTube to make Hitler rant about HD-DVD losing to Blu-ray, his car getting stolen, the Cowboys losing to the Giants in the 2007 playoffs, and even everyone forgetting his birthday.

Coming soon: Hitler finds out that Constantin Films, which owns the rights to Downfall, is pulling the clips from YouTube.

While it should be well within their right to do so, is this the smartest business move for the film company?  Recall that Chris Brown (before his alleged domestic violence incident made him untouchable) was able to use a viral video of a wedding party dancing to one of his songs to sell mp3 downloads.

I added Downfall to my Netflix queue last month just because of the Hitler parodies – how many DVD sales is Constantin missing out on?

We all get unicorns? Oh, it’s April Fools…

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

The National Republican Senatorial Committee celebrated April Fool’s Day by releasing a well-timed video chronicling the difference in President Obama’s promises and results:

Messaging on April Fool’s Day can be tricky for political groups.  As a private company with a reputation for lightheartedness, Google can make annual fake announcements without fear of retribution.  (This year they are renaming the company “Topeka” – reciprocating the promise of the free-broadband-seeking Topeka, Kansas to rename their city “Google” for a day.)

The NRSC did a good job with the video.  Because it’s obvious and over the top, it’s clearly an April Fools joke from the beginning.  Sure, that might make it a bit less funny, but the NRSC isn’t going for an award from a comedy film festival.  They were looking to do just what they did: use measured humor and creativity to deliver an important – and well-timed – political message.

Sunday Funnies: Hitler makes a Hitler video

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Last week on the Matt Lewis Show, Matt and I joked about the Hitler video phenomenon – YouTube videos which re-subtitle a scene from the movie Downfall to make it seem like Adolph Hitler is complaining about HD-DVD losing out to Blu-ray, the Cowboys losing to the Giants, or most recently Scott Brown winning back The People’s Seat.

What would Hitler think of this?  I asked Matt.  This week he sent the answer:

A reading from the Blogs of St. Paul to the Ephesians

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

And lo, after one year had passed since the establishment of an official YouTube Channel for the Roman Catholic Church, did the Pope Benedict XVI come forth and say to the flock, Take ye these online tools, and useth them, and spread thy faith far and wide.  And be not discouraged by those who cast doubt, nor by an inability to access a wifi hot spot.

One of the best books available on political strategy is Dedication and Leadership by Douglas Hyde.  Hyde was a bigwig in the British Communist Party who left and became an active Catholic.  His message to Catholics, through this book, was that despite the evils of Communism, the Communist party used effective techniques to recruit and retain membership – techniques which, he argued, could be used by any organization regardless of philosophy, including the Church.  As a modern-day example, Hyde might point to the online tactics which helped elect Barack Obama’s which were then used for successful Republican candidates like Bob McDonnell and Scott Brown.

A wired Vatican fits nicely as another modern-day extension of Hyde’s vision; and any institution that ignores the tools of today as an outreach tool is destined to fail.  Any man-made institution – even if divinely inspired – must recruit to survive.  (Even Jesus Christ Himself knew that He wouldn’t run the Church forever and understood the need to recruit apostles.)

To put it another way: God helps those who help themselves.

Plus, this course of action is far more strategic and savvy than efforts which would simply offer the Church a PR facelift:

Sunday Funnies: Words to Live By

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

My former employer, Morton Blackwell, was very active in the 1964 campaign of Barry Goldwater.  That campaign had a theme – “In your heart, you know he’s right” – that doesn’t really work in politics.  One of the key lessons Morton would teach neophyte political operatives was that being philosophically correct did not always translate into electoral success.  After Goldwater’s drubbing in 1964, those who had been in his corner broke into two camps, as Morton described it.  Some became cynical, and vowed to leave politics, the other side vowed to fight for their ideas rather than with them.

One of the elements that made this second camp successful – and allowed them to regroup and elect Ronald Reagan in 1980 – was a lack of cynicism and a positive attitude.

And that’s why this speech, even if it is only about a silly little TV show, is worth repeating:

There are always places – in the world and the media landscape – for new and innovative ideas.  Those places aren’t always easy to find, but are usually worth the search.