Nick Clegg played Tom Hanks in a remake of a Carly Rae Jepsen music video in an aborted £8,000 Lib Dem election stunt
Party made Deputy PM film version of the Canadian popstar’s hit I Really Like You on the streets of Gravesend
NICK Clegg played the role of Tom Hanks in a shot-for-shot remake of a Carly Rae Jepsen music video in an abandoned election broadcast.
The party spent almost £8,000 creating a version of the Canadian popstar’s hit I Really Like You on the streets of Gravesend.
In the run-up to last year’s General Election, where the party were almost wiped out, the Deputy Prime Minister took several days out from campaigning to shoot the video.
The stunt was an attempt to make the then-Lib Dem leader “go viral” in the run-up to the ballot, but they got cold feet and never released it.
Responding on Twitter to show the video to the world, the : “Absolutely not, sorry!”
A former staff member Ben Rathe "yes, I've seen the video. No, I don't have a copy of it", and Phil Reilly, an adviser to Mr Clegg, said: "."
The only evidence is a video taken by a bystander who saw the some of the filming take place on a side road, and was posted to YouTube.
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The Times reports that staff were sworn to secrecy about its existence, but an invoice submitted by the party reveals its existence.
A was submitted to the Electoral Commission, and left little to the imagination what it was for.
Costing £6,500 + £1,3000 VAT, it reads ‘Film and edit parody of Carly Rae Jepsen video’.
The original video shows the Hollywood actor waking up in his pyjamas, then walking through the streets of New York, fit-bumping and high-fiving people as he goes.
The Lib Dem version saw Mr Clegg play the role of Oscar-winning Mr Hanks, recording every shot like-for-like, including posing for selfies and playing table tennis.
He even reportedly left the House of Commons early on March 19 last year to be on time for filming in Kent, missing Danny Alexander unveiling the Lib Dems’ alternative pre-election budget.
Designed to show the party was “fun”, it contained nothing however to promote Lib Dem policies, with an insider saying: “It made no sense.”
And Mr Clegg, who had a temperature that day, told friends once he got into his car at the end of a day’s filming that he thought: “Why the f*** did I do that?”
Six weeks later the Deputy Prime Minister had resigned as Lib Dem leader, after the party had been reduced to just eight MPs from 57 in a disastrous election.