A Look at 6 Notable Advocacy Campaigns Ahead of the Midterms
A roundup of what's at stake this Election Day
There’s a lot riding on this year’s midterm elections, especially reproductive rights. Here’s a rundown of campaigns that illustrate how important it is to have your voice heard and represented at the polls.
Woman Corp
Ogilvy and the ERA Coalition created Woman Corp, the only “woman” in America whose rights the government actually will fight for. The campaign stresses that the constitutional rights of corporations more important than the rights of actual women. Stranger Things actress Gabrielle Pizzolo takes matters into her own hands and creates a corporation, naming it Woman. “Truck nuts are more deserving of protections than every single woman living in America?” she asks. No need to wait on a response. Pizzolo has a company to create using “spite, outrage and regular rage.” Or we could just have the ERA recognized in the Constitution, as Pizzolo reminds viewers.
Votex
Fortnight Collective launched Votex, the “first tampon that helps you insert systemic change.” The entire box of the faux product is comprised of detailed instructions on where to vote and why it’s of dire importance. Votex is “the first tampon that uses voting technology to protect against a conservative flow.” Tampons give “two to six years of protection from toxic lawmakers” and come “lightly scented with feminine rage.” The campaign targets Colorado voters with a video promoting the faux brand, a website to help residents register and know where to vote, and in-person canvassing at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Heavy in tone and heavy in puns, the tampon pamphlet instructions urge women to “gently slide your preferred lawmakers into place with your votes. Be sure to apply enough pressure so that your voice is heard and they land securely in place in office.”
Abortion Bus
Brian Moore, creative director at Anomaly, live-streamed “Abortion Bus” last week to raise money for Fund Texas Choice, a nonprofit that pays travel expenses to abortion clinics for Texas residents. The livestream lasted 23 hours to symbolize how far some pregnant Texans might have to travel for an abortion—1,500 miles round trip, or a 23-hour drive. The event raised over $30,000, and the game is available for download.
My Body, My Business, My Freedom
Atlanta-based Black Feminist Future, with help from A-B Partners, created “My Body, My Business, My Freedom,” a 30-second anthem that underscores “the freedom to choose is freedom.” The organization has a page on its website that helps women find abortion care and links to ReproActions’ fake clinic database to vet clinics prior to visiting. Per the site, at least 99 fake clinics are in Georgia. Guerrilla posts throughout Atlanta emphasize “taking care of us” and “abortion is community care.”
Points4Choice
The agency Opinionated debuted a passion project via LinkedIn post called Points4Choice. The agency encourages fellow agencies, and anyone really, to convert their credit card points into cash and donate the funds to Planned Parenthood. With a goal set at $50,000, the agency has raised $28,850 so far with contributions from Denver Ad School, Joan Creative, happylucky, Kin, Mirimar, Noble People and Zambezi.
I … Voted
We’ve all received a CVS receipt that’s practically our height, and now Preacher gives the famous “I Voted” sticker that same treatment. On behalf of the Texas Civil Rights Project, the agency created an extra long sticker (five times longer!) to draw attention to the hoops Texans jump through to vote. Should questions arise on Election Day, Texans are encourage to call the Texas Civil Right Project at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
The sticker reads:
I
filled out a voter application,
mailed it to the county election office,
checked to make sure it was approved,
was never mailed an absentee application,
was denied an opportunity to vote by mail,
because i’m not over 65,
disabled, or out of state,
was denied an opportunity to vote in a drive-thru
or submit my ballot in a drop box,
because both are illegal in my state,
so I took unpaid time off,
on what should be a federal holiday,
paid for a sitter,
showed up in person,
with my driver’s license
and my election identification certificate,
just in case,
during a narrow window
that isn’t convenient with my schedule,
avoided obstructing the view of a poll watcher
for fear of penalty under the law,
and then
Voted
CREDITS
CREDITS for Votex
Andy Nathan- FOUNDER & CEO
Devin Reiter – PARTNER & PRESIDENT
Jen Jaffe – PARTNER & CFO
Erin Hoffman – DIRECTOR OF TALENT AND CULTURE
Adam Chasnow – PARTNER & CCO
Becca Schepps – CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Mona Hasan – CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Steph (Langan) Strange – ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR – ART
Martha (Murphy) Crompton – ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR – COPY
Anna Delaney – ART DIRECTOR
Kelly Yach – SENIOR BRAND DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Tucker Kavanagh- BRAND SUPERVISOR
Lauren Koslosky- SENIOR BRAND MANAGER
Lauren Kotz – BRAND MANAGER
Jane Pendergast – BRAND MANAGER
Rosie Chester BRAND COORDINATOR
Ronn Lueang – 3D RENDER/ANIMATION
Chet Strange – PHOTOGRAPHY
Ashley Albert – VOICEOVER
Matthew Polis – SOUNDSPACE, BOULDER
JSM MUSIC, NEW YORK
CREDITS for Abortion Bus
Brian Moore
Mike Lacher
Melissa Wood
Michelle Yee
Michael Gobo
Will Millar
Kimberly Van
Andrew Puzzuoli
Adnan Aga
Anomaly
Fund Texas Choice
CREDITS for Woman Corp
ERA Coalition | Woman Corp
Launch: November 2022
AGENCY: Ogilvy
Liz Taylor, Global Chief Creative Officer
Devika Bulchandani, Global CEO
Lisa Bright, Chief Creative Officer of California and Global Chief Creative Officer of PR
Chris Beresford-Hill, NA President and Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy
Rachel Chapman, Associate Creative Director
Meghan Howell, Associate Creative Director
Winston Noel, Associate Creative Director
Vini Sousa, Associate Creative Director
Remy Glock, Creative Director
Barbara Polanco, Art Director
Allie Jones, Copywriter
Sarah Ko, Designer
George Sholley, Head of Production, North America
Seng Rimpakone, Executive Producer
Carina De Blois, New York President
Erin Sheehan, Account Director
Elise Horsak, Account Supervisor
Olivia Prendergast, Social Strategist
David Ford, Global Chief Communications Officer
Stefanie Schmit, SVP of Public Relations
Denee Zumwalt, Account Supervisor of PR
Erin Shiffman Cohen, Vice President of Earned Media Relations and Strategy
Lisa Stancati, Senior Counsel, Commercial Legal & Business Affairs (Americas) WPP
Gloria Hall, Senior Partner, Executive Director of Licensing at Ogilvy Advertising
Maryellen McGrath, Art Buyer at Ogilvy Advertising
Kirsten Jensen, Client Finance Analyst
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Pretty Bird
Kerstin Emhoff, Owner
Quinn Katherman, Director
Suzanne Hargrove, Executive Producer
Tracy Hauser/Rika Osenberg, Head of Production
Megan Porche, Producer
EDITORIAL COMPANY: MackCut
Pamela Petruski, Editor
Dylan Anderson, Producer
Brandon Alexander, Assistant Editor
Gina Pagano, Executive Producer
CLIENT: ERA Coalition
Zakiya Thomas, CEO
Carol Jenkins, Former CEO and President
Jessica Neuwirth, President Emerita
S. Mona Sinha, Board Chair
Kimberly Peeler- Allen, Board Chair
Chrisi West, Director of Communications
Velu Ochoa, Social Media Communications
Ron Baldwin, Vice Chairperson of the Board
Bettina Hager, DC Director & Director, Outreach & Advocacy at ERA Coalition
Vivien Pong, Finance, Operations and Development Manager
Jennifer Tucker, Strategic Partnerships
Marc Sokol, Strategic Consultant
CORPORATE OUTREACH: BCW
Brian Ellner, U.S. Public Affairs Lead at WPP / Purposeful Comms at BCW
Kevin Walther, VP Global Strategy
Jordana Baldwin, SVP of Corporate Affairs
MEDIA: GroupM
Susan Schiekofer, Chief Digital Investment Officer
Ron Mangiacapra, Head of Strategy and Engagement at GroupM
Jillian Schroeder, Client Investment Lead
Karen Chan, Managing Partner, Investment Strategy Lead
PARTNERS/SPECIAL THANKS
Mara Entertainment: John Mara Jr.
Claire Frawley