I scream, you scream, we all scream for . . . a repeal of Citizens United?
An Election 2012 edition of Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream is hitting supermarket shelves this week as part of Ben & Jerry’s “Get The Dough out of Politics” campaign. Vermont’s Finest — a self-proclaimed “activist company” — is fed up with the 2010 Supreme Court decision that allows corporations to freely contribute money to elections. Working with Colbert Report star Stephen Colbert, who was first honored with the company’s Americone Dream flavor in 2007 (and who has his own Super PAC), the ice cream makers hope to inspire dessert lovers to speak out against special interests’ undue influence over the American political process.
Ben & Jerry’s is no stranger to political causes: it has raised a lot of dough for Occupy Wall Street. Co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield told NPR’s Scott Simon in March that they’ve raised $300,000 for the movement and hope to eventually reach $1.5 million.
We got the inside scoop on the “SUPERPACK” redesign: below is an early sketch of the special-edition pint carton for Colbert’s Americone Dream flavor of ice cream, with Stephen’s edits. (The ice cream itself — a vanilla-caramel swirl with pieces of fudge-covered waffle cone — won’t change.)
Acting like a proud Super PAC owner, the comedian scribbled his own take on Ben & Jerry’s message on the back of the container, noting that the company should stick to making ice cream, and get more dough “into” politics, not “out” of politics. He also added some puns, urging customers to take “a scoop — not just for Colbert Nation — but for Citizens United.”
At the end, Colbert clears up a popular misconception — at least for himself: “P.S. Chubby Hubby did not evolve from Chunky Monkey.”
(Click to enlarge)
An early sketch (click to enlarge) / Courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s