Last October, the comedy duo Cassetteboy released a YouTube video mashup called Cameron’s Conference Rap, splicing together the prime minister’s words from the Tory party conference to form lines such as “I am disgusted by the poor / And my chums matter more / Because we are the law”. It amassed 3.5m views in a week.
Since then, mashup videos have become a staple of this internet-obsessed election campaign, so much so that the Lib Dems, missing the point somewhat, made their own version, dubbed by Cassetteboy “the political equivalent of dad-dancing”.
Happily, the Lib Dem efforts failed to kill the mashup trend. Here are four of the best…
Leaders’ election debate
Before the seven-way ITV leaders’ debate in April, video producer Eclectic Method put together a short, satirical video imagining what it would be like: David Cameron telling Ed Miliband “You cannot be Prime Minister! I’m Prime Minister”, Natalie Bennett defending immigration, and all the leaders intoning the word “power” as a sinister chant.
Let’s Get It On
Probably the most nightmarish of these videos, Sky News’s General Affection Song is a mashup promo for their campaign coverage. The party leaders’ faces are manipulated into singing along to Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On: smirking, pouting, and running their hands through their hair. The image of David Cameron’s lovelorn “Oh”s will haunt your dreams.
Milibae: The Movie
Milifans, rejoice. Last week saw the release of a four-minute film about the social media phenomenon that is Milibae (“bae”: significant other, baby). With the tagline “a classic British underdog story”, the video is set to Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out for a Hero, starting with the overexcited hen do that mobbed his campaign bus and charting the ensuing #milibandwagon.
The Housemate Interviews
A final offering, from non-profit organisation Vote for Policies, which urges voters to look beyond the media personas of politicians and listen to what they actually say. The snappy Friends-inspired video asks the leaders interview questions as they vie to be your new housemate for the next five years. Who’d be best at dealing with a rat in the kitchen? What’s their idea of a good night out?
