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October 16, 2007 12:01 AM PDT

Political zombies with JibJab--oh, and CNN's involved

by Caroline McCarthy
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He's coming to get you.

(Credit: JibJab)

I got a little bit obsessed with JibJab.com's "Starring You!" video creator when it allowed me to create videos of my co-workers dancing the Charleston in drag while horrifically bored on a slow news day. (Josh Lowensohn looks awesome in flapper garb.)

Now, as I've just learned, the site has created a politics-meets-Halloween gimmick so that you can edit a likeness of yourself into mini-movies called "Night of the Living Democrats" or "Night of the Living Republicans" and battle zombified versions of politicians from the political party you abhor the most. The new project, launched Tuesday, is in partnership with CNN Politics--why exactly, we're not sure. And zombies are a big deal, in case you couldn't tell.

Some of us are politically jaded enough so that we'd rather battle undead incarnations of our office-mates or in-laws (since we have to do that every day anyway), but hey, Bill Clinton and Trent Lott will have to do for now.

JibJab, created eight years ago by brothers Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, made a name for itself by Photoshopping the heads of world leaders onto cartoon bodies and turning it all into elaborate song-and-dance numbers. The original "Starring You!" mashups launched over the summer, and the Spiridellis brothers gleefully cite the statistic that over one million of the custom JibJab avatars have been created.

I guess there are more than a few of us who are inclined to procrastinate sometimes.

Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register)
JibJab Versus SmashMash
by terigarrett February 8, 2008 8:13 AM PST
read this article - if you enjoy JibJab

http://www.thetechbrief.com/2008/02/08/smashmash-versus-jibjab-comrades-competitors-or-kaput/

What do you think?
Reply to this comment

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About The Social

CNET News' Caroline McCarthy is a downtown Manhattanite who believes that, despite popular opinion, the Web can actually help your social life. She's happily addicted to fun social-media tools from Twitter to Yelp to Facebook, sends an inordinate number of text messages, and has a tendency to waste time at the office reading restaurant blogs. Here, she explores all facets of the Web's gregarious side, as well as the unique tech culture in her home city of New York. (Don't call it Silicon Alley.)

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