Oprah Endorsing Obama

Advertisers have always known that a big name celebrity attached to their product sells. But is the same notion true in politics? Recently, Oprah Winfrey (arguably the biggest celebrity of them all) appeared on Larry King Live supporting Barack Obama in his presidential endeavors. This is the first time Oprah has endorsed any politician. King asked her why she chose to give him her public support, and she stated,

“Because I know him personally. I think that what he stands for, what he has proven that he can stand for, what he has shown was worth me going out on a limb for and I haven’t done it in the past because I haven’t felt that anybody — I didn’t know anybody well enough to be able to say, I believe in this person.” Here is a clip of the interview:

The New York Times wrote an article about how her endorsement, not to mention her brand, can significantly help his campaign. They write:
“It’s usually pretty easy to quantify what Oprah Winfrey’s stamp of approval can mean: her book club catapults titles to the top of best-seller lists, and her nods at other products send consumers racing to buy them.”

So, what exactly is the value of Oprah’s endorsement? And why do millions of Americans value her opinion so much? There is little doubt in my mind that Oprah knows how much her brand name is worth. She told King that she made no financial contribution to his campaign, but that “my value to him, my support of him, is probably worth more than any check.”

She’s not kidding! There was an article in Business Week that spoke about the “Oprah Effect,” and how her endorsement on a book can instantly catapult it onto any best-seller list,

“Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the Oprah phenomenon is how outsized her power is compared with that of other market movers. Some observers suggest that Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show could be No. 2. Other proven arm-twisters include Fox News’s Sean Hannity, National Public Radio’s Terry Gross, radio personality Don Imus, and CBS’ 60 Minutes. But no one comes close to Oprah’s clout: Publishers estimate that her power to sell a book is anywhere from 20 to 100 times that of any other media personality.”

Her influence goes way beyond books. Time named Oprah one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th century, as well as one of the 100 most influential people of 2004, 2005, 2006, and again in 2007. At the end of the 20th century Life listed Winfrey as both the most influential woman and the most influential black person of her generation, and in a cover story profile the magazine called her “America’s most powerful woman“. In an interview on Larry King Live, Senator Barack Obama said she “may be the most influential woman in the country”. In 2003 she was named the greatest pop culture icon of all time by VH1. In 2005 Forbes named her the world’s most powerful celebrity. Vanity Fair wrote:

“Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president, politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope.”

And she does seem to have an influence on politics, at least that is the opinion that Bill O’ Reilly has. He continually bashes her for having more “secular-progressives” and “liberals” than “conservatives” and “traditionalists” on her television show.

Why do we all (well, except Bill O’ Reilly, but he doesn’t count) love Oprah? I think that it is because she is the epitome of the American dream. She was born in utter poverty and rose her way to the top, becoming the world’s first black Billionaire. I believe we all love celebrities, but the celebrities we admire the most are the ones that come from nothing, because it makes us all believe that one day we an achieve what she has.

~ by ajaramillo on May 11, 2007.