The great Morgan Freeman, an Oscar-winning vet who’s played everyone from Nelson Mandela to The Almighty Himself (though sadly not in the same movie), has what we’d call a very recognizable voice. He’s used his soothing baritone to introduce CBS News, narrate March of the Penguins, promote the 2012 London Olympics, and even endorse political candidates like our current President.

Today, Freeman moves boldly into the social advocacy sphere, applying his signature cadence to a brief TV spot titled “Dawn of a New Day for Marriage Equality”. The purpose of the commercial, produced by the non-profit Human Rights Campaign, is to celebrate the movement’s election day victories (in which gay marriage won popular approval in three states for the first time in this country) while simultaneously preparing allies for the legal and political struggles that still lie ahead.

One could spend hours parsing the messages of this ad, and we’re sure someone will question the clear link drawn between the Civil Rights Movement and the current push for marriage equality (because someone always has to do that). Still, we find it to be a fairly compelling piece of political PR; Mr. Freeman certainly makes the HRC’s case feel more…epic than a man with less powerful vocal chords possibly could.

What do we think of this spot? What influence do Freeman’s voice and celebrity status have on the power of the underlying campaign?