With hearts and passions aflame, we dashed over to the Wonder Ballroom last night for the launch of Sam’s campaign.

First reassuring sign was the line of Sam Fans already gathered to get in. Clearly a lot of enlightened cyclists (parking is challenging in that part of town.)

Once we’d fought our way through the wall of Sam Volunteers, we made ourselves comfortable in the bar and waved the neighborhood placards we’d been given (randomly, we were representing Columbia East and Rose City Park although none of us live in either place.)

The fabulous Poison Waters hosted. The video debuted without a hitch and garnered enough applause to make us believe that it had worked. And the lovely Sam made an impassioned and compelling speech based on the Alisdair Gray quote “Work as if you were living in the early days of a better nation” – the main hook in the video. Truly inspiring and a firm justification of our confidence in Sam’s beliefs and his ability to get things done.

We’re with Sam.

http://www.vimeo.com/5225661
Sam Adams Campaign Video from NORTH on Vimeo.

The political buzz here at NORTH isn’t strictly confined to the national scene.

NORTH, in co-operation with Grow Film, has set its sights on producing a new kind of campaign video for Portland mayoral candidate Sam Adams.

After seeing the Big Brothers / Big Sisters promotional video that NORTH had produced, Sam was moved enough to want to work with the company who put together such an effort. Phone calls were placed, connections were made and the project began to take shape.

While the video’s intentions are to gather support for Sam and bolster the “Sam Adams Army” from a grass roots level, the traditional campaign rhetoric has been tossed aside in favor of a narrative more in-line with the man himself.

Sam’s vision for Portland is inspiring, we believe, because he reflects Portlanders’ desires to be evolving, authentic and fully realized human beings. People look at Sam and they see that possibility in themselves, especially when they encounter him in person.

That’s what we set out to capture. Stay tuned…