Philip de Vellis, a heretofore anonymous employee of Blue State Digital, a Democratic Internet consultancy who has a contract with the Barack Obama campaign, was the person behind the following Apple 1984 ad and Hillary Clinton mashup that has become a widely popular viral video, the LA Times reports.

Blue State Digital says that the mashup was not done at the direction of the firm and that the recently-fired de Vellis  was acting entirely on his own and was not assigned to the Obama account. The fact remains that the benefit of the mashup accrued to the Obama campaign. I have no idea whether this was the case with Blue State Digital, but I just sorta wonder if these firms specifically employ "fall guys" with the understanding that they’ll conduct these type of campaigns. It just seems awfully convenient.

Apple 1984/Hillary Clinton Mashup

Original Apple 1984 Ad

Apple’s 1984 ad was first aired during that year’s Super Bowl to introduce Apple’s Macintosh personal computer. The ad was directed by Ridley Scott and is often cited as one of the most influential marketing campaigns.