Saatchi & Saatchi’s new creative work is based on a strange but true insight – voting officially makes you hotter. 40% of 18-24 year olds find regular voters more attractive, according to results from a May YouGov survey commissioned by the Just Voite campaign.
The campaign, Voting is Hot AF, kicks off Just Vote, an urgent campaign to encourage young people to get out and vote in the 4th July general election. The campaign is powered by green entrepreneur and founder of Ecotricity, Dale Vince, with the insight coming from leading PR & communications agency, Borkowski.
The OOH and socially campaign features a varied design world built on the founding principle that ‘hotness’ is both subjective and abstract – just like the decisions we each make at the polls. Every interpretation of ‘hotness’ is celebrated in the creative, just as every vote – and every person who gives AF – should be.
The work reimagines the voting trope of the ‘X’ as a visual shorthand to symbolise attraction and draws on modern dating culture to explore what attraction means to different people, while also nodding to the X-ratedness of sex appeal. Headlines echo the language and social tropes of this culture – “Get polled”, “Giving AF is hot AF”, “Talk turnout to me” and “18+ for a reason”.
Youth turnout has historically been lower than within other demographics, with a third of the UK population up to the age of 34 abstaining. The Just Vote campaign aims to engage young people ahead of next month’s polling date and remind 18-24 year olds to register, remember their ID, and turn out on July 4.
The new research which inspired the work was conducted with YouGov, and also found:
- More than half of those surveyed (52%) felt that regular voters were more intelligent, while 35% said voters were more trustworthy
- When asked about the dating behaviours of voters as compared to non-voters, a fifth (20%) felt that non-voters were more likely to be rude to a waiter, while 21% felt that non-voters would spend a first date talking about themselves
- Crucially, 18% felt that non-voters would be more likely to commit the ultimate dating faux-pas and ghost you
- By comparison, those who voted were considered more likely (17%) to take care of the bill on a date
Franki Goodwin, chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, commented, “Finding the right message, at the right moment to influence real behaviour change is when advertising is at its most powerful. It’s been extremely interesting mining dating and internet culture to find a real-world upside to young people engaging in politics – a place that can often feel like the least attractive, least youthful place on earth and that’s not good for anyone.”
Richard Huntington, chair & chief strategy officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, added,“Hot AF is the democratic equivalent of ‘if in emergency, smash glass’, because only half of 18-24 year olds now vote and that’s an emergency.”
Dale Vince, founder of Just Vote and CEO of Ecotricity, stated,“Saatchi & Saatchi has had a powerful influence on the course of British political history and in partnering with us on Just Vote ahead of this general election they are underlining the urgency of ensuring that young people and first-time voters are given a voice on 4 July.”
Credits:
Client: Ecotricity
Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Chief Creative Officer: Franki Goodwin
Executive Creative Director: Will John
Creative Director: Chris Townsend
Creatives: Marie Jensen, Josephine Rasmussen, Will Blackburn, Avril Delaney, Molly Ohayon, Issie Peach
Executive Design Director: Nathan Crawford
Designer: Dani Wolf, Jimmy Leung, Benny Yang
Chief Strategy Officer: Richard Huntington
Senior Planner: Jonny Turnbull
Managing Director: Jonathan Tapper
Business Lead: Rania Kouros
Account Director: Cali Fish
Agency Producer: Brett MacDonald
Media Buying Agency: Electica
