Youth-led movement My Life My Say has worked with Ogilvy UK to encourage young Brits to register to vote ahead of the upcoming deadline for the local and mayoral elections on 2 May.
A gaggle of reality TV stars – including Britain’s Got Talents Ashley Glazebrook, Love Island’s Molly Marsh, Frankie Foster, Tanyel Revan and Kai Fagan, Big Brother presenter Will Best, and Celebrity Big Brother’s Bradley Riches – will use their experience of winning elections to encourage young people to get involved.
The two-pronged integrated campaign sees Ogilvy’s PR and influence, advertising and behavioural science divisions working together to ensure that young Londoners are impacted in both the real world and online.
Launching with a 30-second cinema ad featuring voice of Big Brother Marcus Bentley, the ad will run across Pearl and Dean cinemas with an OOH spot being unveiled at the Outernet.
“We used the talent people already vote for to get them to vote when it matters most,” said Ogilvy creative and strategy officer Charlie Coney.
“An earned first idea with real impact, with influencers spearheading a campaign that’s now rolling out across other channels before Tuesday’s deadline. Now stop reading this and go register.”
It comes after research revealed that young people are 68% more likely to vote in reality TV shows than in elections, while three in ten young people aged 18-34 are not registered to have their say at all.
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Ogilvy executive creative directors Nicola Wood and Andy Forrest said: “Someone very famous once said ‘democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch’. Which is where our campaign comes in.”
“If the lamb wants to choose what it wants for lunch, then more lambs need to vote. In order to get every single young person voting we are empowering them to register to vote by tapping into culture and highlighting the fact that they already do,” they continued.
“Gen Z vote for any number of Love Islanders, celebs in a jungle and every other reality TV show, but our army of influencers flipped the coin telling them to vote on their own reality.”
Love Island contestant and VAWG activist Sharon Gafka added: “You voted for me to go on a date with Chuggs Wallis so now it’s time to vote for something off the screens, your democracy.”
“I know it may feel like your vote doesn’t make a difference, but – just like in the villa – it really can. It’s as simple as voting for Love Island, simply head online to register and it can be done in a matter of minutes.”
