Proof that spoofs aren't all goofs...

Last week Nick Clegg took to YouTube to apologise to students, parents and voters over the LibDems backtracking on an election pledge to oppose university tuition fees. His heartfelt apology used a medium associated with youth, and accessible to more than if it were buried in a newspaper article: a calculated move to connect with those disillusioned with the LibDems' role in the coalition.

However, as with anything released on social media, releasing the video is like releasing a small monkey into a supermarket: unpredictable but sometimes amusing and something that people will talk about for a long time after... While some spoofed the speech to vent their anger at Clegg and his party, others) helped to soften the reputational damage around the party's decisions with videos that reached many more people than the original apology would have ever done alone. The Poke satirical website were quick to release an autotune spoof of the speech, with Clegg's approval, as a charity single and YouTube hit:

Spoofs can be the ultimate form of accolade and perpetuate a campaign long beyond its otherwise serious shelf life. This spoof took debate around Clegg's message beyind the usual traditional press and across social media. See this PRWeek article for more discussion on the value of spoofs in this instance and if you'd like to see the original, click here - however the most interesting aspect of this will be seeing how many more spoofs are spoofing the spoof...