Phenomenon Launched #VoteTogether Campaign For Civic Nation

 

Jay Gelardi
Executive Creative Director Phenomenon
 

Tell us about your role in the creation of this work.

I am the ECD so worked with the creative directors to get to a genuinely surprising place with the work.

Give us an overview of the campaign, what is it about?

Ultimately the campaign is about getting people to go out and vote, but the Vote Together initiative is about getting people to host some sort of voting gettogether, as these events increase voter turnout by 4%, which could make all the difference.

Tell us about the creative brief, what did it ask?

The brief was pretty open. Create a film that encouraged people to host a voting party and download the Vote Together kit.

Which insight led to the creation of this piece of work?

The message is simple, but we really wanted to deliver in a fun and surprising way. We knew the film would predominantly run in social so it needed to cut through the noise. That’s why we opted for some shock value, but not in the traditional election ad sense.

 

Can you share with us any alternative ideas (if any) for this campaign? Why was this idea chosen?  

There were other ideas that felt a little more expected. Still fun but didn’t have the same level of mischievous misdirection, so this was our clear favorite.

How did the client initially react to this idea?

In the first client review we led with this idea, and quite honestly as we started reading through the script they looked completely shocked as if they’d made a huge mistake by briefing us. But the moment we revealed what was really going on they stopped for a moment, looked so relieved and actually started clapping. Which doesn’t happen every day.

What was the greatest challenge that you and your team faced during development?

The whole thing came together pretty neatly. Our production partners at Bob Industries were great partners and Brigg was very accommodating on set. All in all, for a small budget job, pulled together on a very tight timeline, it was a pleasure.

What did you enjoy most about seeing this campaign through? Did you learn anything new from the experience?

I enjoyed that fact that the clients were brave enough to pick the boldest idea with the most cut through. For some reason, that’s not always the case.

Where do you see this campaign going in the future?

Let’s get through the midterms and take it from there.