Viral video put Wichita editorial page on the map: Brownlee's meditative mowing earns 75,000 hits

Masthead, The, Winter, 2007 by Phillip Brownlee

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An editorial video needs to be funny or it needs to kick ass. Otherwise, it's usually a poor imitation of TV news that isn't worth anyone's time.

This opinion is what guided The Wichita Eagle's editorial staff as it produced the music video "Brownback Girl" And it's why we weren't surprised when the video went viral--in fact, we planned on it.

The idea for the video sprang from an editorial cartoon by our cartoonist, Richard Crowson. He contrasted the sexy Obama and Giuliani girls with the "girl" that our state's presidential candidate, Senator Sam Brownback, might attract--a Church Lady-like character.

Producing the video took some time but not a lot. I thought up the new lyrics to Madonna's "Material Girl" song while mowing my lawn. And Bucky Waiters was a natural choice to be Brownback Girl; he's a local comedian known for playing women in revue shows--sort of the Milton Berle of Wichita.

The biggest production unknown was whether we could get a church to allow us to film in its sanctuary. But we found one on our second ask.

The video took only forty-five minutes to film, though it helped that I planned most of the shots beforehand. Our cameraman, Eagle page designer Rod Pocowatchit, then spent about two hours editing it.

My intent from the start was to go national, hoping to ride Obama Girl's skimpy shirttail. And I had planned to develop a marketing campaign to launch with the release of the video.

But the online staff at the Eagle posted the video before I was ready, and I received my first request for a television interview about an hour later.

My marketing then occurred on the fly and consisted mostly of news tips sent to national blogs and national media. Fortunately, they read their emails.

Within a week, "Brownback Girl" was mentioned on thousands of Websites, including The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, CBS News and ABC News.

An excerpt was aired on CNN'S "Anderson Cooper 360." After watching the clip, Cooper deadpanned: "I don't think Brownback Girl is a girl."

Between YouTube and the Eagle's Website, the video has been viewed more than 75,000 times. I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of people saw clips on television.

And the video continues to pop up in the news.

For example, about two months after its release, National Public Radio played an excerpt of the song--the second time it had done so. I appreciated the publicity, but a Boston University professor on the program said that the video wasn't a parody, that it was actually in support of Brownback.

I responded to NPR with this: When a guy in a dress sings "Sam loves stem cells, wants gays in jail," it's a spoof.

Since filming "Brownback Girl," we've produced several other satirical videos. One of them, "Coal-Lovin' Governor," helped force our governor to take a stand on a proposed coal-fired power plant. It also was shown at the Kansas International Film Festival in Kansas City.

Though I have received few complaints about these videos, I'm sure some people question whether it is appropriate for a newspaper to produce them. But I view the videos as just another of the many ways we express opinions--albeit one that has received a lot more attention than our usual fare.

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Phillip Brownlee is The Wichita Eagle's opinion editor. Email pbrownlee@wichitaeagle.com