When it comes to the big screen, celebrities typically have to master complicated scripts and take on entirely new personas.
But when cast in a PSA about a grave issue, A-listers really just have to repeat somber terms and startling facts set to sad music to get their messages across, a spoof video has reminded us.
Comedy site Clickhole recently spliced together segments from varying advocacy spots where very famous people loaned their faces and voices to inspire their fans to take action on hot-button issues.
They included excerpts from a 2012 anti-gun campaign following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, where Beyonce, Amy Poehler and Chris Rock –- among other celebs all featured in grim black and white shots -- had just one word to say: Enough.
In a subversive push to get people to vote in the 2008 presidential election, a number of stars (including Leonardo DiCaprio and Sarah Silverman) flat out told their viewers: Don’t vote.
And some PSAs, celebs didn’t even have to open their mouths, they just stared sternly into the camera.
But while the montage proves there’s a trusty old equation typically followed when producing a celebrity activism spot, there really doesn’t seem to be a compelling reason to switch things up considering how well the format works.
For example, the original “5 Friends” PSA, which encouraged viewers to tell a handful of friend to register to vote, got more than 5 million views and that major voter-registration sites reported getting over 300,000 new voters due to the video alone, according to MTV.
And … scene.
Related
Before You Go
