Voting in Oregon Feels Good: Animation to 'pre-bunk' false election information

Oct. 14—A new statewide public service campaign is being launched designed to "pre-bunk" false election information by proactively reaching voters with accurate information from an official, trusted source.

The campaign announced Oct. 12, by Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, is being called Voting in Oregon Feels Good.

"I want the characters in these videos to be to Oregon elections what Smokey the Bear is to wildfire prevention," 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 target of the campaign is 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.

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," 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.