{{Short description|American businessman (b.1975)}} {{Infobox person | name = Ben Relles | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1975 | birth_place = Wisconsin, United States | death_date = | death_place = | body_discovered = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | other_names = | known_for = | education = University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wharton School of Business | alma_mater = | employer = | occupation = Working with Reid Hoffman | years_active = | title = | height = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | opponents = | boards = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relations = | callsign = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Ben Relles''' is an entrepreneur and creator. His career in video started with the viral Obama Girl video in 2007. He currently works with Reid Hoffman and co-created Reid AI, a digital twin based on Hoffman’s content.
==Career== In 2007, Relles founded the comedy channel Barely Political, whose content has been reportedly viewed over 2.5 billion times. The channel “rose to prominence” with the "Obama Girl" series of videos.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodson |first=Alex |date=2007-10-17 |title=Obama Girl’s latest crush: Scannell’s online startup |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/obama-girls-latest-crush-scannells-2-152723/ |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> During his tenure, the network’s shows included The Key of Awesome, Super Therapy, and Auto-Tune the News.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, and more parodied in another hilarious 'Key of Awesome' spoof: Watch it here |url=https://ew.com/article/2010/04/07/lady-gaga-justin-bieber-obama-girl-key-of-awesome-spoof/ |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref> He also developed the Vsauce network with Michael Stevens which had a combined 1 billion views across Vsauce1, Vsauce2, and Vsauce3.
In 2011, while serving as Vice President of Programming at Next New Networks, Relles joined YouTube when the company and the channels Relles started were acquired.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=2019-04-09 |title=YouTube Jumping Into Interactive Programming, Led by Originals Exec Ben Relles |url=https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/youtube-ben-relles-interactive-original-content-1203184576/ |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2014, Relles joined the YouTube Originals program as Head of Comedy. In this role, he oversaw development of new content from several high-profile comedy figures, including Kevin Hart and Rhett & Link.<ref name=":0" />
In 2020, Relles created the ''Good to Vote'' program to drive voter registration, and then partnered with HeadCount.org on the initiative.,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Narducci |first=Marc |date=2020-10-29 |title=This Upper Dublin High School grad is using his Hollywood connections to get people registered to vote |url=https://www.inquirer.com/life/ben-relles-head-of-inovatgion-for-youtube-originals-has-spearheaded-a-successful-campaign-to-get-people-registered-to-vote-20201029.html |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Inquirer.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gardner |first=Chris |date=2020-09-15 |title=Shaved Heads, Co-Star Reunions and Swearing Tutorials: Inside the Starry "Good to Vote" Campaign |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/shaved-heads-co-star-reunions-and-swearing-tutorials-inside-the-starry-good-to-vote-campaign-4060861/ |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> To date, the program has registered over 400,000 voters by working with content creators and music artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande and Harry Styles. The program continued for the 2022 midterms and in the 2024 election.
Since 2022, Relles has worked with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. In 2024, they worked together to create Reid AI, a “digital twin” of Hoffman. Reid AI was reportedly trained on 20 years of Reid’s content, including his books, podcasts, and interviews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reid Hoffman's digital twin to give keynote at video summit {{!}} AV Magazine |url=https://www.avinteractive.com/territories-news/us-canada/reid-hoffmans-digital-twin-to-give-keynote-at-video-summit-06-01-2025/ |access-date=2025-11-10 |language=en}}</ref> Relles has given keynotes alongside Reid AI at multiple events, including the 2025 Silicon Valley Video Summit. That same year, Reid AI won the Webby for ''Best Use of AI in Video and Film''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=BASIC® |title=NEW Webby Gallery + Index |url=http://winners.webbyawards.com/2025/video-film/performance-craft/best-use-of-ai/332625/reid-hoffman-meets-his-ai-twin |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=NEW Webby Gallery + Index |language=en}}</ref>
He received his MBA in Marketing from the Wharton School of Business.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ben Relles |url=https://magazine.wharton.upenn.edu/ben-relles/ |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Wharton Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20140306020608/http://www.tubefilter.com/2014/03/02/obama-meets-with-youtube-advisors-on-how-to-reach-online-audiences/ Obama Meets With YouTube Advisors On How To Reach Online Audiences] *[http://vimeo.com/71820923 FOX Business: The Willis Report] *[https://www.uwalumni.com/awards/forward_relles/ UW Alumni Association: Ben Relles, 2013 Forward Under 40 Award Honoree] *[http://www.fastcompany.com/3002442/innovation-agents/how-youtubes-next-lab-can-quadruple-channels-subscribers Fast Company: How the Next Lab Can Quadruple Your Subscribers] *[https://www.c21media.net/archives/78075 NATPE Daily: Developing for Digital] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyuazh2SGBU Anderson Cooper Show: YouTube Guest Ben Relles] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpdSmitOY6k 20/20: The Key of Awesome] *[https://vimeo.com/9664773 CurrentTV: The Obama Girl] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnT6YE2aNd4 C-SPAN: Interview with Ben Relles] *[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/07/16/a-crush-on-obama-and-an-e_n_53057.html Huffington Post: A Crush on Obama and an Eye on the Prize] *[https://www.news.wisc.edu/on-wisconsin/e-lectorate/ On Wisconsin Magazine: E-lectorate] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20131010062203/http://blip.tv/barely-political/obama-girl-abc-417456 ABC News: Obama Girl, Caught]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Relles, Ben}} Category:1975 births Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Category:Living people Category:Wharton School alumni Category:21st-century American businesspeople