Council Launches Political PSAs With Relish

The Ad Council launched a new, irreverent PSA campaign Tuesday to encourage young people to vote for their favorite condiment in the midterm elections. There is an accompanying Web site, PayAttention.org.

The Council points out that only one in five 18-24-year-olds voted in the 2002 midterm election. This is the council's first campaign targeted specifically to midterms.

The PSA's mimic and mock standard political marketing, but instead of candidates, the spots praise the patriotism and vision of a bag of leaves, frozen peas, a Teddy Bear, and even  an "old relish packet."

"We need a condiment with values," says one young woman in the add promoting the packet for elected office. Old Relish Packet and I were trapped 50 miles behind enemy lines," says a man earnestly. "He saved my life."

The spots combine all the traditional imagery of flags and monuments, bald eagles and middle Americans, young and old, combined with with stock catchphrases about courage and integrity and the like, all promoting vegetables or pets or food products.

The kicker: "If you're not voting, then who are you electing?"

The ads, which are being distributed to media this week, were create pro bono by Atlanta agency WestWayne.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.