Alpinistas Want to Get People Excited About Politics
Demokratie Publicis aims to attract more young voters to the polls for the Forum Alpinum.
Demokratie Publicis aims to attract more young voters to the polls for Forum Alpinum. In this year’s parliamentary elections, young people should also have a say in the direction the country takes. That is the goal the Forum Alpinum Foundation has set for itself. With the «Young Commitment» campaign, the committee aims to mobilize young voters. The driving force behind the initiative is a group of former students from the Lyceum Alpinum in Zuoz, Graubünden. They founded Forum Alpinum in 2002. According to its own promotional materials, it is «Switzerland’s youngest think tank.» Under the patronage of Federal Chancellor Annemarie Huber-Hotz, Forum Alpinum aims to raise young people’s awareness of political issues. As stated on its website, the goal is to encourage young people to make their voices heard in society, even amid a «flood of populist information.».
The committee is also making its voice heard for the first time these days through an ad campaign. The initiative’s organizers are launching a cross-media campaign in the country’s major print publications. The advertising agency Publicis is providing creative support—though not for free. The newspapers, however, are running the ads at no cost.
How do you reach today’s youth, who tend to be politically disinterested, don’t like to read, and prefer short, snappy conversations? Starting from these seemingly unappealing conditions, the creative team at Publicis has developed a teaser campaign. Instead of relying on civics lessons, the Zurich-based advertisers are trying to make an impact with provocative slogans. Full-page ads feature unusual URLs in black-and-white—such as www.voll-auf-die-fresse.ch.
The easy-to-remember URLs lead to a website where the relevant video on the topic is played. The style of the animated videos produced by Eventuell is simple yet powerful, combined with cheeky wordplay that encourages reflection. Each short sequence ends with the prompt «And what’s your opinion?» Visitors are automatically redirected to the Young Commitment campaign homepage. There, interested young people have the opportunity to participate in discussions via a blog. This is entirely in line with democratic principles. “Get involved” is the motto. On topics such as nuclear energy, debt, or youth violence, interested individuals can engage in dialogue with the campaign’s organizers, though so far only the latter topic seems to have resonated. Visitors still need to be encouraged to join the discussion. Young people are still hesitant about the new campaign. That may change soon with the launch of the ad campaign.
To date, the young rebels of Forum Alpinum have given their campaign a positive interim assessment. The media response has been remarkable for a project of this kind.
www.voll-pleite, etc. With these cheeky URLs, Forum Alpinum hopes to win over young voters:
www.oma-anpumpen.ch
www.mein-strom-kommt-aus-der-steckdose.ch
www.es-trifft-immer-die-falschen.ch
www.kerne-spalten.ch
www.voll-pleite.ch
www.kaputtschlagen.ch
www.voll-auf-die-fresse.ch
Christian Lüscher
The committee is also making its voice heard for the first time these days through an ad campaign. The initiative’s organizers are launching a cross-media campaign in the country’s major print publications. The advertising agency Publicis is providing creative support—though not for free. The newspapers, however, are running the ads at no cost.
How do you reach today’s youth, who tend to be politically disinterested, don’t like to read, and prefer short, snappy conversations? Starting from these seemingly unappealing conditions, the creative team at Publicis has developed a teaser campaign. Instead of relying on civics lessons, the Zurich-based advertisers are trying to make an impact with provocative slogans. Full-page ads feature unusual URLs in black-and-white—such as www.voll-auf-die-fresse.ch.
The easy-to-remember URLs lead to a website where the relevant video on the topic is played. The style of the animated videos produced by Eventuell is simple yet powerful, combined with cheeky wordplay that encourages reflection. Each short sequence ends with the prompt «And what’s your opinion?» Visitors are automatically redirected to the Young Commitment campaign homepage. There, interested young people have the opportunity to participate in discussions via a blog. This is entirely in line with democratic principles. “Get involved” is the motto. On topics such as nuclear energy, debt, or youth violence, interested individuals can engage in dialogue with the campaign’s organizers, though so far only the latter topic seems to have resonated. Visitors still need to be encouraged to join the discussion. Young people are still hesitant about the new campaign. That may change soon with the launch of the ad campaign.
To date, the young rebels of Forum Alpinum have given their campaign a positive interim assessment. The media response has been remarkable for a project of this kind.
www.voll-pleite, etc. With these cheeky URLs, Forum Alpinum hopes to win over young voters:
www.oma-anpumpen.ch
www.mein-strom-kommt-aus-der-steckdose.ch
www.es-trifft-immer-die-falschen.ch
www.kerne-spalten.ch
www.voll-pleite.ch
www.kaputtschlagen.ch
www.voll-auf-die-fresse.ch
Christian Lüscher
