Obama Uses MTV to Draw Young Viewers to Speech
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Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — President Barack Obama is turning to MTV to get young people to tune in for his speech Thursday night at the Democratic Party’s national convention.
Obama’s campaign is running a television ad Thursday night at the end of the cable channel’s annual movie awards show. It will air just minutes before the president is to speak.
The ad is titled “Gotta Tune In” and encourages viewers to switch channels and watch the president accept his party’s nomination.
Obama is scheduled to speak during the 10 o’clock hour in the Eastern time zone.
The award show runs for two hours, so it will overlap with much of the convention’s final night in Charlotte, N.C. This year, though, MTV executives decided to move the show up an hour from its normal 9 p.m.-to-11 p.m. time slot so it would end before Obama’s 10 p.m. nomination acceptance speech.
“We knew that the DNC was taking place [this] week, so we planned on airing the show during an earlier time-frame,” an MTV spokesperson told ABC News. “The VMAs mark one of the biggest nights of the year for MTV, and it’s critical that we use the show as a platform to encourage youth voter participation.”
MTV News and the “Power of 12″ campaign have teamed up to cover both the Republican and Democratic conventions, and the network live-streamed Gov. Mitt Romney’s Republican acceptance speech last week on MTV.com, MTVNews.com and Powerof12.org. It will, likewise, live stream Obama’s acceptance speech online Thursday night starting at 9:45.
Throughout the show, MTV will encourage young people to register and vote, but it will not plug Obama’s live stream speech, according to network officials.
Obama’s advantage with young people propelled him to victory in 2008. His campaign is seeking to maintain high levels of support among younger voters, even as they face an uncertain economy and shaky market.
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