I Don’t Think I Understand the Point of This Will Ferrell Pro-Hillary Ad. Please Help.

By Shane Ryan  |  November 4, 2016 | 11:56am
Politics News Hillary Clinton

So, I just saw this on Twitter, and it was funny, because Will Ferrell is funny:

Then I watched it again, and now I’m confused: What is the actual point? Because after two views, it seems kinda dark and awful. I have several questions.

1. First, is the point of the 67-second video really that millennials should vote for fear that their friends and parents will look up their voting records online and shame them? Like, is that really the main argument here?

2. It’s well-known that Ferrell endorses Hillary, so why didn’t he say that, at any point? Or at least make a substantive argument in her favor? “Trump is bad” would have been fine, really.

3. Seriously, what the hell, is the humor here just a weird shield for an ad that’s secretly all about scaring people via the threat of peer pressure?

4. Isn’t this the same “everybody’s doing it!” tactic that the fake drug pushers in dumb school videos used when I was 11 years old?

5. Is the Clinton camp so panicky about youth voter turnout that they’re dispensing with all appeals to civic duty and national preservation, and just appealing to a fear of being ostracized?

6. Do they really think that any millennial will waste time learning how to look up voting records online, and that they’ll make a list of their friends who stayed home in order to exact some kind of social retribution? I mean, it sounds like something a young Hillary would probably do, sure…but the average voter?

7. Further, do they think they’ll fool any millennial into believing that his or her friends will do this?

8. What the fuck is this? Why even make this ad? What is it supposed to accomplish?

9. Honestly, what did I just watch?

10. Deep down, is this another thing like the Chillary Vine, where they just assume young people are vapid and superficial and respond more to memes and catch phrases and basic animalistic impulses like the terror of being alone, except now they’re smart enough to disguise it behind a layer of irony, but deep down the total lack of respect for anyone under the age of 35 is exactly the same?

11. I hate this election.

 
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