MediaPost: Bipartisan Animated Jab May Be Biggest Online Short Film Ever

A two-minute Flash animation spoofing both President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry is crossing the chasm from web viral marketing to mainstream entertainment. The JibJab Media production features both presidential contenders singing a warped version of This Land is Your Land while trading barbs. But while the short has exploited a lot of the qualities of viral marketing, it isn't really selling a message. JibJab and its exclusive distributor Atom Films, are attempting instead to make money by selling access to servers that will reliably download this and other entertainment shorts.

JibJab and Atom Films both saw more than a million visitors come to their sites for the short. An executive at Atom Films noted that no marketing has yet launched. "We're just thrilled that we have exclusive rights," said Megan O'Neill, the woman in charge of content acquisition for Atom Films. "It pays to build a relationship with content creators."