Oregon Secretary of State Launches “Voting in Oregon Feels Good” PSA Campaign to Pre-bunk False Election Information
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, October 13th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
EASTERN OREGON – (Release from the Oregon Secretary of State) Secretary Fagan announced a new public service announcement campaign today called Voting in Oregon Feels Good. The PSAs aim to “pre-bunk” false election information by proactively reaching voters with accurate information from an official, trusted source.
“I want the characters in these videos to be to Oregon elections what Smokey the Bear is to wildfire prevention,” Secretary Fagan said. “This campaign is as fun as it is informative, with Oregon-focused animations that stand out from other government messages. When you see the videos and social media posts, I hope you’ll take a moment to remember why Oregonians are very proud of vote-by-mail.”
The campaign is animated in a 1970’s style, featuring dozens of Oregon landmarks, characters and scenes from across the State. The first spot, Journey of a Ballot, explains the features of vote-by-mail that protect the integrity of our elections. Subsequent spots will focus on increasing voter turnout and educating voters about the new postmark rule.
“Research shows that once a person forms a belief about elections it’s very hard to change their mind,” Secretary Fagan said. “That’s why it’s critical for elections officials to get ahead of false information by sharing the fact that Oregon has had free and fair elections through vote-by-mail for over 20 years. When Oregonians know all the steps elections workers take to protect the integrity of our elections, it completely undercuts the conspiracy theories from proponents of the Big Lie.”
To produce Voting in Oregon Feels Good, the Oregon Elections Division used a competitive bidding process to hire Oregon-based creative agency Happylucky. The budget for the project is $350,000 — allocated from one-time funding approved during the 2022 short session by the Oregon Legislature. The campaign will target low turnout voters with ad buys on social media, CTV, broadcast TV and podcast platforms. The ads will be produced in English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Somali. The first ads launched on Monday, October 10.
We encourage media outlets to replay the PSAs. For high-quality video and related image content, contact Ben Morris at ben.morris@sos.oregon.gov.
