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HBO's Game Change, starring Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, premieres on March 10, and the premium cable programmer is in full promotional mode.
So is Sarah Palin herself. Her official political action committee, SarahPAC, has produced a video called "Game Change We Can Believe In," which offers an alternative view of HBO's depiction of the latter stages of the 2008 presidential race. Mimicking the style of the HBO trailer for Game Change, it substitutes the actors from the HBO film with the real people they play, all of whom promote an exceedingly positive image of Palin. It even includes a clip of Bill Clinton, saying of Palin, "[she's] gutsy, spirited, real—Sen. McCain looks like he knew what he was doing." It's an effective rebuttal that has gotten nearly as much attention on the Web as the HBO trailer itself.
Choosing an aggressive and voluble target like Palin alone is smart PR for HBO—the programmer was guaranteed to get a sharp response from Palin's camp that would resonate beyond its subscriber base. And for Palin, the HBO movie and SarahPAC's response have combined for a PR win. They get her name out there on the eve of Super Tuesday, enabling her to steal some of the spotlight from Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and the other Republican candidates—perhaps in itself a game changer.
Follow Steve Goldstein: @SGoldsteinAI