Saskatoon police urges public to vote for viral video as deadline looms
CBC News | Posted: August 14, 2019 5:03 PM | Last Updated: August 14, 2019
CBS to air Lip Sync To The Rescue Sept. 9
The clock is ticking for the Saskatoon Police Service.
Next month, a viral video made by Saskatoon officers may be on a CBS TV special. However, it will only make it to air if it gets enough online votes.
"We had a few competitions here and there within our own service to get out and vote," said Const. Ashley McLeod. "I think I voted probably a thousand, maybe a little bit more times. It's a little bit embarrassing."
Last year, the police service made an ambitious video of officers lip syncing to The Backstreet Boys song I Want It That Way. So far, the video has been watched 3.7 million times on Facebook.
The video was part of a wave of police services making videos across North America. The genre became so popular, CBS decided to organize a TV special called Lip Sync To The Rescue showcasing ten of the most popular videos.
McLeod said she's confident Saskatoon's video will make the cut.
"We're the only Canadian video in the challenge," she said. "Fairly early on, I went and looked at all the YouTube numbers and we were I think top six or seven. So, I thought that was pretty cool."
McLeaod said that on top of making people laugh, the videos are putting a human face on officers.
"What we wanted to do is just kind of show the human side behind the badge, which a lot of people don't really get to see," she said.
The winning police force will receive $10,000 for their community.
Online voting is still active on the CBS website.
Lip Sync To The Rescue will air Monday, Sept. 9.