FIGHT HST ANNOUNCES WINNER OF “YES TO EXTINGUISH THE HST” YOUTUBE VIDEO CONTEST
Sep 13, 2011 Press Release
FIGHT HST ANNOUNCES WINNER OF “YES TO EXTINGUISH THE HST” YOUTUBE VIDEO CONTEST – $1,000 PRIZE GOES TO NANOOSE BAY WOMAN FOR “IPHONE” HST PARODY
Home-produced video succeeds where millions worth of pro-HST TV ads failed
VANCOUVER – The grassroots Fight HST campaign has awarded a Nanoose Bay woman a $1,000 prize for her online YouTube video that helped the “YES” side win the provincial referendum vote to extinguish the Harmonized Sales Tax.
Cathie Busing’s home-made video helped succeed where a $5 million BC government TV ad campaign featuring “stick men” promoting the HST failed, as did another multi-million ad campaign by the pro-HST Smart Tax Alliance, says Fight HST Strategist Bill Tieleman.
“Cathie’s video is a brilliant parody of an Apple IPhone ad that our Fight HST directors found funny, informational and extremely well produced – ironic given the BC Liberal government spent $5 million to come up with amateurish stick men ads,” Tieleman said.
Busing’s video is online on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpNj9s4OOjU
All the videos, including Busing’s, can be seen online at:
http://fighthst.com/fighthst-youtube-video-contest/
Fight HST Leader and former Premier Bill Vander Zalm said Busing’s video and those of 18 other entrants were all very impressive, particularly considering Fight HST had no money to contribution for production or to broadcast ads on television.
“We said throughout the referendum campaign that British Columbians would not be fooled by slick expensive government advertising with stickmen or big business ads with accountants telling people the HST is good for them,” says Vander Zalm.
“This contest showed that British Columbians who cared about the unfair HST could outperform a multi-million dollar propaganda campaign and win,” he said.
Amateur videographer Busing was thrilled with her win.
“I believe that the Harmonized Sales Tax was wrong from the beginning and my contribution to getting rid of it was to create this YouTube video for Fight HST. I’m very pleased to win the best video prize but even more happy that the Fight HST effort to extinguish this unfair tax by forcing a referendum was successful,”
Fight HST Organizer Chris Delaney says the work of Busing and thousands of other volunteers was instrumental in countering the strength of the pro-HST forces.
“We were outspent by up to 25 to 1 by the BC government and the Smart Tax Alliance but we won the referendum because of people power,” Delaney said. “This video contest, lawns signs, door knocking, public events and other efforts beat an advertising spending campaign bigger than we’ve previously seen in any provincial election – pretty impressive.”
Tieleman said funds for the $1,000 prize are coming from volunteer fundraising, not from the $250,000 given to Fight HST by the BC government when both sides received referendum funding.
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