Last Thursday, Buzzfeed released a 2 minute-long video featuring President Obama. The video, entitled “Things Everybody Does But Doesn’t Talk About” serves as a reminder that the President is yet another delightfully regular human being, living and breathing on the All-American grounds. He takes pictures using a selfie stick, talks to himself in front of a mirror and blames Obama when his chocolate-chip cookie does not fit into a glass of milk.
But why?
The key to understanding the significance of the Obama video is its short segment, where the President rehearses a speech about the incoming healthcare coverage deadline (due last Sunday, February 15th, mere 3 days after the video’s premiere). Less serious in character, with a potential to go viral, the clip was supposed to remind the tech-savvy Millennials that they are not as invincible as they like to think.
It is not the first presidential attempt to reach the public via social media. Earlier on, the Commander-in-Chief participated in a Q&A on Reddit and was interviewed by several rising YouTube personalities. It looks like Obama is undertaking a more hands-on, interactive operation to reach the younger audience. Wrapped in playful digital packaging, his messages convey a sense of authenticity beloved by Millennials.
Whether or not the strategy worked is yet to be seen. For now, all we know is that by the end of Sunday, Obama’s PSA was viewed more than 42 million times.