Comedian Steve Martin, famous for his zany and bizarre sense of humor, endorsed Senate candidate Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) in a YouTube ad that channels his classic comedy bits and rivals Clint Eastwood’s appearance at the Republican National Convention in avant-garde terms.
The ad begins with a smiling Martin sitting at a kitchen countertop or table, his hands resting in front of him.
“Hi, I’m Steve Martin,” he begins. “You probably know me as the actor and comedian. But did know I’m also a home crafts expert?
“Today, I’m going to show you how to make a wad of paper,” Martin continues.
“A wad of paper can be a lot of fun just to play with around the house or maybe toss expertly into a trash can,” Martin says as he nonchalantly tosses the paper off screen. “But who wants to go down to a fancy office building and root around their dumpster to find a really good one?”
Martin then tells viewers that he’ll be instructing them on how to make one at home “with things you have lying around the house.”
The actor begins pulling things from off camera, each of which becomes less and less reasonable, including a piece of paper, paperclips, brads (tack-like objects used in scrapbooking), a stapler, a stick of gum, scissors and a hammer.
Partway through the list, a hand slowly moves into frame from the right side of the video, holding a piece of paper that reads: “My friend, Bob Kerrey, is running for the US Senate in Nebraska." As Martin demonstrates the complicated task of constructing the wad of paper, the hand continues to edge in Martin’s endorsement of Kerrey from the right side of the video, one sheet at a time.
“He is a principled man whom I have known and respected for many years,” reads the next sheet. “Whether you are a Democrat or Republican he deserves your vote, because … ” the third sheet reads.
Midway through Martin stapling the wad of paper, the fourth sheet slides into view: “ … he cares about the people of Nebraska … ”
While Martin hammers the stick of gum with a hammer in order to “soften up that gum so it’ll make it a little bit easier to chew,” the fifth sheet comes into view, declaring that “… [Kerrey] considers both sides of every issue to determine what is best … ”
The sixth sheet arrives, pointing out that Kerrey already served as Nebraska’s governor and senator for 16 years as Martin places the stick of gum in his mouth and begins to chew.
“But most of all … He is sane. And his ideas are workable,” the next two sheets say as Martin impales the forming wad with a brad, hacks away at it with his scissors, then combines the wad with his gum.
“Please consider Bob Kerrey as a wise and thoughtful choice as your senator from Nebraska,” the penultimate sheet reads as Martin finishes his wad of paper.
“Also, please consider me as your home crafts authority,” the final sheet reads as Martin informs viewers that they have a “beautiful wad of paper to play with around the house.”
The ad ends as a smiling Martin tosses the newly formed wad of paper off screen and thanks the viewer, and “Bob Kerrey for Nebraska” appears in the lower left corner of the screen, along with the address for the candidate's website, BobKerrey.com.
