Where Did That Video Spoofing Gore's Film Come From?

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () bsf-llc com>]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115457177198425388-search.html?KEYWORDS=rega
lado
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115457177198425388-search.html?KEYWORDS=reg
alado&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month> &COLLECTION=wsjie/6month
 

Where Did That Video Spoofing Gore's Film Come From?

By ANTONIO REGALADO and DIONNE SEARCEY
August 3, 2006; Page B1


Everyone knows Al Gore stars in the global warming documentary "An
Inconvenient Truth." But who created "Al Gore's Penguin Army," a two-minute
video now playing on YouTube.com?

 [penguin]
<http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/MK-AG803A_PENGU_2006080219565
8.jpg>  
A frame from "Al Gore's Penguin Army," a video on YouTube lampooning the
former vice president.  

In the video, Mr. Gore appears as a sinister figure who brainwashes penguins
and bores movie audiences by blaming the Mideast crisis and starlet Lindsay
Lohan's shrinking waist size on global warming. Like other videos on the
popular YouTube site, it has a home-made, humorous quality. The video's
maker is listed as "Toutsmith," a 29-year-old who identifies himself as
being from Beverly Hills in an Internet profile.

In an email exchange with The Wall Street Journal, Toutsmith didn't answer
when asked who he was or why he made the video, which has just over 59,000
views on YouTube. However, computer routing information contained in an
email sent from Toutsmith's Yahoo account indicate it didn't come from an
amateur working out of his basement.

VIDEO SPOOF

 
 <http://youtube.com/watch?v=IZSqXUSwHRI&search=gore and penguin> [See the
video] . See  <http://youtube.com/watch?v=IZSqXUSwHRI&search=gore and
penguin> the "Al Gore's Penguin Army" clip.
 


Instead, the email originated from a computer registered to DCI Group, a
Washington, D.C., public relations and lobbying firm whose clients include
oil company Exxon
<http://online.wsj.com/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=xom> Mobil Corp.

A DCI Group spokesman declines to say whether or not DCI made the anti-Gore
penguin video, or to explain why Toutsmith appeared to be sending email from
DCI's computers. "DCI Group does not disclose the names of its clients, nor
do we discuss the work that we do on our clients' behalf," says Matt Triaca,
who heads DCI's media relations shop.

Dave Gardner, an Exxon spokesman, confirms that Exxon is a client of DCI.
But he says Exxon had no role in creating the "Inconvenient Truth" spoof.
"We, like everyone else on the planet, have seen it, but did not fund it,
did not approve it, and did not know what its source was," Mr. Gardner says.

The anti-Gore video represents a less well-known side of YouTube. As its
popularity has exploded, the public video-sharing site has drawn marketers
looking to build buzz for new music releases and summer blockbusters. Now,
it's being tapped by political operatives, public relations experts and ad
agencies to sway opinions. 

...

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