Hollywood actress featured in pro-Obama Web ad

August 4, 2008
Hollywood actress featured in pro-Obama Web ad
Posted: 02:20 PM ET
From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow appears in a new Web ad encouraging Democrats living overseas to obtain absentee ballots and vote for Sen. Barack Obama.

(CNN) — Even in the wake of Sen. John McCain's recent efforts to liken Sen. Barack Obama to celebrity starlets Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, the group Democrats Abroad is not shying away from using some Hollywood star power to get its pro-Obama message out.

The Democratic group launched a new Web ad Monday that features Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who lives in London. The nearly two-minute spot is directed at U.S. citizens living overseas and suggests that they request absentee ballots in order to participate in November's presidential election no matter where they are in the world.

"What happens at home affects us all," people featured in the ad say.
"Every single vote will count," adds Paltrow.
"Vote Democrat, Vote Obama, Vote from Abroad," flashes on the screen near the end of the ad.

The ad comes on the heels of controversy last week over a McCain campaign ad entitled, "Celeb" which called Sen. Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world" and included images of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. In keeping with McCain's celebrity theme, the Republican National Committee also launched a celebrity quiz entitled "Who said it? Celebrity Edition" on its Web site last Friday. The quiz features unattributed quotes and then asks visitors to the site to pick the "celebrity" who made the statement with Obama always being one of the available choices.

The Obama campaign responded to the McCain "Celeb" ad with an ad of its own called "Low Road" and Paris Hilton's mother, who has donated to the McCain campaign, has called the "Celeb" ad a "waste of money."

Source: CNN