BarelyPolitical.com
Encyclopedia
Barely Political is an online video and entertainment website that creates politically themed satirical music viral video
s and parodies. It was created in June 2007 by founders Ben Relles
and Leah Kauffman
and debuted its presence on the internet in the music video "I Got a Crush... on Obama
", starring Amber Lee "Obama Girl" Ettinger
. Barely Political has created numerous videos featuring many political aspects, including the military, news media, and also inviting some of the 2008 presidential candidates to be featured in a video, including former Senator Mike Gravel
. It is distributed by YouTube Next Lab and Audience Development Group
, a subsidiary of Google
.
Barely Political's most popular videos have also been named one of 2007's 10 best videos by Newsweek
, People Magazine, Associated Press
and YouTube
. "I Got a Crush... on Obama" was also nominated for a YouTube Award
, and has been viewed over 20 million times on YouTube. In addition to the Obama Girl Video, BarelyPolitical has produced several other political themed videos.
In October 2007 Barely Political was bought by Next New Networks, for an unknown amount, which in turn was acquired by YouTube in spring 2011. Herb Scannell, co-founder and CEO of Next New Networks, stated, "With BarelyPolitical, we've added a team that can grow our reach to a very important audience — one that likes their politics with a healthy serving of humor — timed perfectly with the upcoming 2008 election season."
The most watched web series is The Key of Awesome, mostly for the parodies of most pop culture songs such as "Someone Like You
" and "Rolling In The Deep
" by Adele
and "Moves like Jagger
" by Maroon 5
.
on June 18, 2007, Obama said, "It's just one more example of the fertile imagination of the Internet. More stuff like this will be popping up all the time." Obama told the Associated Press
that the Obama Girl video had upset his daughters and said, "You do wish people would think about what impact their actions have on kids and families."
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
s and parodies. It was created in June 2007 by founders Ben Relles
Ben Relles
Ben Relles is the founder and creator of Barely Political. He was born in Wisconsin and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a Badger. He founded his own marketing company, MarketVision Inc. in Philadelphia, and from 1997 to 2002 grew the business as its...
and Leah Kauffman
Leah Kauffman
Leah Kauffman is a Jewish-American singer and songwriter who is responsible for singing and writing four popular viral videos: "My Box in a Box", "I Got a Crush... on Obama", "Obama Girl vs. Giuliani Girl" and "I Like a Boy". The first song was written by Kauffman, the second and third were...
and debuted its presence on the internet in the music video "I Got a Crush... on Obama
I Got a Crush... on Obama
"I Got a Crush... on Obama" is an internet viral video, first posted on YouTube in June 2007 featuring a young woman seductively singing of her love for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama...
", starring Amber Lee "Obama Girl" Ettinger
Amber Lee Ettinger
Amber Lee Ettinger is an American actress, internet celebrity, and model. She first rose to fame as Obama Girl in her Internet video "I Got a Crush... on Obama", in which she expressed her admiration of then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama...
. Barely Political has created numerous videos featuring many political aspects, including the military, news media, and also inviting some of the 2008 presidential candidates to be featured in a video, including former Senator Mike Gravel
Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
. It is distributed by YouTube Next Lab and Audience Development Group
YouTube Next Lab and Audience Development Group
The YouTube Next Lab and Audience Development Group, founded originally as Next New Networks is a web television company based in New York City, New York, that was launched in March 2007 by Fred Seibert, Herb Scannell, Emil Rensing, Timothy Shey and Jed Simmons with $8 million in funding from...
, a subsidiary of Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
.
Barely Political's most popular videos have also been named one of 2007's 10 best videos by Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, People Magazine, Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. "I Got a Crush... on Obama" was also nominated for a YouTube Award
YouTube Awards
The YouTube Awards are awards given out as formalizedic or comedy genres, as voted by the YouTube community. The awards were organized in 2007 to "call out some of the most popular videos and let the users choose which ones deserve some additional recognition"...
, and has been viewed over 20 million times on YouTube. In addition to the Obama Girl Video, BarelyPolitical has produced several other political themed videos.
In October 2007 Barely Political was bought by Next New Networks, for an unknown amount, which in turn was acquired by YouTube in spring 2011. Herb Scannell, co-founder and CEO of Next New Networks, stated, "With BarelyPolitical, we've added a team that can grow our reach to a very important audience — one that likes their politics with a healthy serving of humor — timed perfectly with the upcoming 2008 election season."
Series
In addition to its popular Barely Political sketches, the comedy group has multiple web series they post on their YouTube channel.- Key of Awesome
- Barely Digital
- Barely Guys
- Rated Awesome
- Obama Girl
The most watched web series is The Key of Awesome, mostly for the parodies of most pop culture songs such as "Someone Like You
Someone Like You
Someone Like You may refer to:In film and theater:*Someone Like You , a 2001 film*Someone Like You , a West End musical*Unnaipol Oruvan, an Indian film directed by Chakri Toleti...
" and "Rolling In The Deep
Rolling in the Deep
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21. The song was written by Paul Epworth and Adele, who described it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune". It was first released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single of the album.The song has...
" by Adele
Adele
Adele is a female given name of European origin used in English, French, German and Italian with a meaning of noble, kind, and tender...
and "Moves like Jagger
Moves Like Jagger
"Moves Like Jagger" was written and produced by, Benjamin Levin and Shellback, while additional writing was done by Adam Levine and Ammar Malik. When asked about the song, Levine said, "It was one of those songs that was definitely a risk; it's a bold statement. We've never really released a song...
" by Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
.
Response
When asked about the video by the Des Moines RegisterDes Moines Register
The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
on June 18, 2007, Obama said, "It's just one more example of the fertile imagination of the Internet. More stuff like this will be popping up all the time." Obama told the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that the Obama Girl video had upset his daughters and said, "You do wish people would think about what impact their actions have on kids and families."