[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shKJk3Rph0E[/youtube]
Clintons spoof 'Sopranos'
WASHINGTON — The Clinton family took a cue from the Soprano family on Tuesday, releasing an online video that spoofed the finale of the HBO drama and aimed at generating buzz — and money — for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign.
In the video, created to unveil Clinton's new campaign theme song, the New York senator and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, re-created the final scene of the hit series, complete with a diner, a classic rock tune, a parallel parking-impaired daughter and the show's infamous cut to black. It even featured a cameo from a Soprano crime boss.
The video and announcement of Celine Dion's You and I as the official campaign theme song ended a month-long online contest that Clinton's campaign officials said drew more than a million views to Clinton's website and the online site, YouTube. More than 200,000 votes were cast.
The contest and video highlight the growing importance of the Internet as a tool for campaigns to connect with voters and tap into potential donors at minimal costs. This week, Republican Mitt Romney posted an online video in which his wife, Ann, describes their 2006 Christmas vacation, when the family decided to seek the White House.
Why select a song from a singer born in Canada? Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer said the "song was picked because it won." Among the finalists: The Temptations' Get Ready, The Police's Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, and the Smash Mouth version of I'm a Believer.
Singer said no statistics were available late Tuesday afternoon on how much Web traffic or contributions had been generated by the video. BlogPulse, which tracks blog content, showed a sharp uptick in postings mentioning Clinton. Mentions of the Sopranos also were up.
The Clinton send-up was "pure genius," said Michael Bassik, vice president of Internet advertising with MSHC Partners, a marketing firm that handled online advertising for Democrat John Kerry's 2004 presidential bid. "It's a rare day when you see a candidate-sponsored video that makes you sit up and laugh out loud."
In the Clinton clip, Hillary Clinton, like Tony Soprano, spins through the musical selections in a diner as the former president quizzes her about the campaign and the song contest winner. The video mirrors the show's final scene in other ways. The background music, Journey's Don't Stop Believin, is the same song that was featured in the final episode. Like Tony Soprano, Bill Clinton noshes, but on carrots that his wife orders for him, instead of the onion rings Soprano enjoyed — a nod to his 2004 heart bypass surgery.
At one point, actor Vince Curatola, who played New York mob boss Johnny "Sack" Sacramoni in the series, flashes a threatening look at the Clintons.
The Clintons keep the suspense going. To learn which song won, viewers must click to a new page where they can hear the tune — and make a contribution.
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