“Freedom: My Anti-Gov” Commercial

Bureaucrash does it again, releasing a fantastic parody ad.

Of course, Stephen VanDyke was wearing their shirt before it was cool.

Props.

Update by Stephen VanDyke: Since I wear this shirt, I want to make it clear I’m not an anarchist against all government, just big, bad government. That said, I would like to see more commercials from whoever did this. I would suggest being topical on why we don’t have some of these freedoms anymore. More biting.

posted Jun 22nd, 2006 by Stuart Richards
  • http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_Am1.html nameless

    that’s beautiful, man…

  • Devious David

    Lets put some money together to run that on TV. In the middle of the Bill O’Reilly show or something. Actually, that would be a waste of money. Put it in the middle of Colbert or John Stewart.

  • Bob

    Now THAT is more like it! Message delivered simply, effectivly. Soo much better than childish, stupid and utterly ineffective flash cartoons from the likes of LP or FSP.

  • IanC

    DD — pipe dream: do both!

  • vforvandyke

    Word up Ja$on and crew… if you ever want another blogad here at HoT, just send me another tee :)

    I’d love to see the LP run a 30-second ad spot contest like MoveOn did back in the day. I think all sorts of creative types would come out of the woodwork for that kind of activity.

  • nsarwark

    That’s awesome.

  • Brian S

    And it has hot chicks!

  • A. Selene

    The problem here is that if folks figure that as long as they “can live where they want” or “believe what they want,” etc, that they are “free.” Nice list of a bunch of stuff that’ll be the very last things to disappear. It’s not that simple, and it’s certainly nowhere near the actual frontlines. (Other than that – nicely done.)

  • Stuart Richards

    Brian: I saw that too. :D

  • Devious David

    I think everyone can come to consensus that LP and other pro-liberty orgs should run “campaigns” to get things done. IE, start a campaign to get this one run sometime on/about Stewart/Colbert. Raise money that way. Each mini-project can have a campaign and people donate to their favorite(s). This gives people lots of small, FUN goals to work towards and they can see the immediate effects. Did I mention it would be FUN? That’s the key to promoting and maintaining activism and advocacy and that’s how we will in time win: by bringing a fun approach to the truth and doing the right thing by offering a compelling alternative.

  • Bob

    The point A. Selene is to get them to go to the website and find out more, I think they did that well.

    Amazing that a bunch of kids with a blog can produce a more profesional ad and presesence than the so called pros. I mean do the cartoons of porcupines running along to banjo music make you want to find out more or does it just make you want to stab your eyes out with rusty forks. Same goes for most anything the LP has ever produced.

  • Devious David

    It’s certainly better to produce professional quality over quantity Mickey-Mouse.

    And stealth/viral marketing are good topics for discussion.

  • http://thatsridonkulous.blogspot.com/ Rob D.

    Posting this on the Maher forums…very nice!

    This is the guy’s site I believe.
    http://www.brandonpadams.com/

  • http://libertarianyouth.blogspot.com Nigel Watt

    Yes, this is around 9999 times better than that mildly satanic Porcupine Run.

  • http://darianworden.tripod.com D Worden

    AWESOME.

    I’m all for running that on TV. Maybe a “Partnership for a Tyranny Free America” campaign can be launched? It would be good to have a website for that if the clip was running on TV.

    Hell, a spoof of all those stupid anti-drug ads can probably be made. “Just tell your kids they can’t live in the family house because the mayor wanted a shopping center there. They’ll understand.” “Just tell your parents you don’t have a babysitting license. They’ll understand.”

  • http://www.libertyforsale.com Timothy West

    it’s awesome in message and very good technically, except it’s very GENERAL. General doesnt work with video. One needs to GRAB and hold on to the viewer. This ad is still tons better than any LP produced ad I’ve ever seen.

  • http://www.libertyforsale.com Timothy West

    and dont put it on ANYTHING that already caters to libertarians on TV. We have those votes.Put it on whatever independants and the non voter watches.

  • http://www.gabejohnson.org/ Gabe J

    I am prepared to rite a check to partnership for a tyranny free america right now, course, it’ll be no good, but I’d still write the check. And hey, I liked the animated cartoons put together by LP, but this is good too, it’s just different, both are effective at conveying the message. I think that we could be turning out those flash cartoons on a weekly basis, and put a bit more time and cash into a “partnership for a tyranny free america”

  • disinter

    Where did the video go?

  • vforvandyke

    Mike Nelson: YouTube is down for maintenance, I wish they’d propagate a message to that effect to everyone who has an embedded movie, it’s annoying.

  • Wes

    SVD said: I’m not an anarchist against all government, just big, bad government.

    George Washington: Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

    And he still did some BAD stuff, like turn the army on tax evaders.

    All govt needs to be carefully watched, but it tends to make this difficult.

  • IanC

    Wes — I find myself rather strangely admiring the fire quote.

    It seems… quite possibly one of the best descriptions of the role of government I’ve ever run into; especially for all its succinctness. (The GW I bit *CERTAINLY* doesn’t hurt.)

  • http://www.brandonpadams.com/film/ Brandon

    Wow, thanks for all the great responses guys. Please spread the link as far and as wide as you can.

    Yes the video is general, but its intention is to grab the attention of people who are not interested in politics and then throw them a curve ball at the end that will hopefully get them to consider what that means… which will hopefully lead them to understand that any amount of government is necessarily a limit to our freedom.

    My website is still under construction, but the film section is here http://www.brandonpadams.com/film/

    If anyone wants to air it on tv, send me some money :-)
    Or if anyone has ideas for future projects, please let me know, I’m always looking for new things to do.

    Thanks and spread the word.

  • IanC

    Brandon — I like your wording but would ask that you keep in mind the potential of limited return on investment when reducing the size of government is put into effect.

    That is, if you reduce it beyond a certain state, the amount of freedom *increase* might possibly be *LESS* than the amount of freedom *decrease* resulting in the loss of the structure that bit of government provided.

    Right now we’re nowhere near that threshold, however. :)

  • http://www.brandonpadams.com/film/ Brandon

    I hope that one day we will have to worry about that problem

  • Stuart Richards

    Yeah, right now it’s kinda irrelevant.

    Keep up the good work, Brandon!

  • http://www.colliething.com Susan Hogarth

    SvD says: “Since I wear this shirt, I want to make it clear I’m not an anarchist against all government, just big, bad government.”

    I don’t think you need have any worry that people will mistake you for an anarchist, Stephen.

  • http://hammeroftruth.com/2006/06/22/freedom-my-anti-gov/ greg rich

    less talk more action- people have been verbally bashing the gov for a long time, in history the only time a gov reform has worked or at least made some change is in action. to sit around and pick one topic or the other, say what is wrong and how it pisses you off is all well and good. if you just like to complain. the system is in a way that if a person[or group] was to try and make a change, you would need to take the system on not all the rules its an endless maze. and it is no accident. so what is a person to do, well this and other sites is what. piss and moan, and see how many others think the same way. i am one of them [you]! as gov outsiders yet the back bone of this country, hard working good people, our voices are really being heard. the need to be more public, and smart about an appoarch is the key. now did i go to deep, say to much, or is freedom and peace what we all want. work toward it, it will not just come. remember JOHN LENNON!