Young creatives are using design, culture and technology to make democratic participation more relevant, accessible and engaging for first-time and younger voters worldwide today through creativity.
A new global creative challenge is demonstrating how young people can use advertising, design and storytelling to strengthen civic participation without telling audiences who or what to support.
The One Club for Creativity has announced the winners of its inaugural “Get Out the Vote” competition, a free international challenge inviting college students to develop non-partisan campaigns encouraging people to participate in elections.
The initiative was run through The One Club’s Young Ones Student Awards programmes and Education department, with US$15,000 in prize money awarded across the winning entries.
Importantly, the brief did not promote a candidate, political party or political position.
Its only objective was increasing voter participation.
That distinction turns the competition into an interesting example of social innovation through creativity.
Instead of approaching civic participation through traditional political messaging, students were challenged to use the language, humour, platforms and cultural references of their own generation to make voting feel more relevant.
The US$5,000 grand prize went to the Off the Record team from Openlearn Academy for “Yes, Everything is Politics”.
The campaign was built around the idea that politics does not exist only inside parliaments, campaigns or television debates.
It affects everyday life.
The team tagged ordinary objects with scannable information showing how public decisions influence things including prices, public spaces and the services people use.
The creative idea was designed to challenge the belief that politics has little relevance to everyday life by making those connections visible in ordinary environments.
Two campaigns each received US$2,500 runner-up prizes.
“Every Price is a Policy”, created by Woojung Lee, Daeun Kim, Yu Jong Son and Beomjun Kim of Openlearn Academy Seoul, explored the relationship between everyday prices and public policy.
“You Choose”, created by Romanian team Dupla Shot, comprising Maria Gaitan and Lara Veselinović from Universidad Europea de Madrid, also received runner-up recognition.
Five additional finalists each received US$1,000.
They included “Passed Down” by Iván Sánchez Madridano and Ruth del Rey Hernández of Miami Ad School Madrid; “Score The Vote” by the University of Oregon’s UO Ad Team; and “Get Out the Vote – Young & Co.” by Isabelly Matos, Vedita Mirpuri and Karen Padron of Miami Ad School.
“Pick a Side”, created by Jose Pita, Salvatore Scala and Mohammed Essam of Miami Ad School Madrid, and “Run the Polls” by Tiffany Knutson of Savannah College of Art and Design completed the finalist group.
A further 38 entries received honourable mentions.
For the students, the programme provides more than prize money.
Winning campaigns will be shared through The One Club’s platforms and may also be considered for real-world placement through out-of-home and media partners, potentially including digital billboards in high-traffic areas.
Winners, finalists and honourable mention recipients also receive a one-year membership to The One Club.
That creates an additional professional-development dimension.
Young creatives are not only being asked to solve a real social challenge. They are also gaining exposure to senior industry professionals, potential media placement and networks that can contribute to their own careers.
Entries were assessed by 18 creative leaders from around the world, many of whom have previously judged major international competitions including The One Show and ADC Annual Awards.
The competition therefore connects civic participation with creative education, industry access and practical experience.
“Creativity has the power to make people stop, think, and ultimately act. That’s especially important when it comes to engaging a new generation of voters,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of The One Club for Creativity.
“We didn’t want young creatives to lecture their peers about why they should vote. We challenged them to use the language, culture, humor and ideas of their generation to make participation feel relevant.”
That approach speaks to a wider challenge facing institutions around the world.
Young people often consume information differently from previous generations, moving between short-form video, social platforms, digital communities and highly personalised media environments.
Reaching them therefore requires more than reproducing traditional civic messaging on newer platforms.
It requires communication designed around how people actually experience information and culture.
The competition asked students to respond across three areas: building a culture of participation, making voting culturally relevant and encouraging people to vote together or participate early.
Those themes position creativity as a form of social capital.
Campaigns that make civic participation understandable, visible and culturally relevant can help people feel more connected to institutions and more confident about taking part in democratic processes.
The initiative also demonstrates how education organisations and creative-industry bodies can create shared value.
Students gain portfolio work, professional exposure and opportunities to develop their careers.
The creative industry gains access to emerging talent.
Communities receive new ideas aimed at strengthening participation.
And institutions working to increase voter engagement gain campaigns developed by the audiences they are trying to reach.
For The One Club, the programme forms part of a wider history of creative activism that encourages designers, advertisers and communicators to apply their skills to social challenges.
The strongest lesson from this first competition may be that young people do not necessarily need to be persuaded through the communication methods of previous generations.
Sometimes the more effective approach is to give them the opportunity to design the message themselves.
