See what I did there? Using a little reverse psychology to get you to
do the opposite -- click through and read today's "Red, White & Blog" -- if only as an act of authoritarian defiance. Well, that's actually the point of today's column: using reverse psychology --
or more aptly, child psychology -- to get young people to vote in this year's election.
As you probably already know, young Americans are notoriously loath to do so, so Providence, Rhode
Island agency Nail figured out a way to hit a hammer on their heads in one of the most ingenious spots I've come across yet this election cycle.
The spot, "Dear Young People, Don't Vote"
features some crotchety elders telling them to sit this one out, because, well, "everything is fine the way it is."
Forget about climate change, tax cuts for the rich, school shootings and a
candidate threatening to undermine democracy -- it's old folks that run America, the spot (above) advises young voters, recommending that they stick to tending their social media memes.
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"Only
46% of people 18-34 years old voted in the last election," the YouTube video's description reminds us, adding: "So the elderly have a disproportionate influence on our politics and our country."
It's enough to make a Millennial's blood boil, and get a Gen Zer to get off their butt.
At least that's what Nail Creative Partner Alex Beckett hopes, noting that his "client is
democracy."
"We specifically didn’t want to have a partisan client because it felt like that would drive off these ultra-low engagement young voters we’re trying to activate," he
continues, adding: "They’re not partisan. They’re not even non-partisan. They’re anti-partisan."
The spot is intended to drive young voters to a broader "Yes We Cancel"
campaign consisting of a website, videos, a store and an Instagram page all built around a tongue-in-cheek homage to the Obama campaign's iconic "Yes We Can"
call to arms.
Now that's what I call "cancel culture" -- but you know, the good kind.