Declare Yourself
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(August 2024) |
Declare Yourselfwas an Americancampaignthat aimed to encourage young people to register to vote. The campaign was founded byphilanthropist,Norman Learin 2004 and was led by former American presidentsJimmy CarterandGerald Ford.The 2004 campaign consisted of a road trip to towns across the country to educate people about theUnited States Declaration of Independenceand voting rights. The 2006 campaign involved public service announcements that compared not voting to people silencing themselves and not standing up for their beliefs. The 2008 campaign consisted of videos posted onYouTubeandMySpaceto promote voting and the 2011 campaign featured abondage-themed photo series comparing not voting to restricting yourself. In 2011, Declare Yourself merged with another campaign to form the nonprofit,Our Time.
Purpose
[edit]The DOI Road Trip's stated mission was to engage and energize all Americans, particularly young people, by bringing the Declaration to them.[1]According to a press release, "This non-profitnonpartisanproject hopes to inspire Americans to participate in civic activism, to exercise their rights and to vote. The Declaration of Independence Road Trip will travel to cities and towns across the United States, creatively combining elements of education, entertainment, and community outreach. "
Founded by TV producer and philanthropistNorman Lear,and led by Honorary Co-Chairs and former PresidentsJimmy CarterandGerald Ford,[2]"Declare Yourself" is described in their literature as a "national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign[3]initiated in 2004 to energize and empower a new movement of young voters to participate in the 2004 presidential election. "[4]From January through Election Day 2004, over one million young and first-time voters registered to vote through events at Declare Yourself's spoken word and music tour of college campuses.[5]
Commercials
[edit]In 2006, three public service announcements (PSAs) were released, each directed byDavid LaChapelle.They pretend to be clichéd commercials for different products but all end with the same ending: Silence. After the image, there's an eerie silence as the words "Only You Can Silence Yourself" appear, followed by a voice whispering "Register to vote now."[6]
Dog Food
An innocent-looking dog food ad where woman comments how her dog has not a care in the world and chooses the brand "Apathy" and hopes that she will be like the dog and be taken care of herself. Suddenly we cut to an image of her on all fours with a muzzle on. Watch Dog Food PSA on YouTube
Phat Ride
A typical ad in the style ofPimp My Ride,when it ends as a mechanic has nailed his mouth shut.Watch Phat Ride PSA on YouTube
Vanity
A commercial which advertises a lipstick called "Lip-Sealer" with the cliché of a model posing with a voice over. Suddenly, the model's lips have been glued shut as she tries to speak but is only able to mumble. Distorted voices are also heard. Watch Vanity PSA on YouTube
The Man
In 2007 Declare Yourself shot another series of PSAs starring Ben Garant and Tom Lennon of Comedy Central'sReno 911!.The series, entitledThe Man,featured Ben and Tom posing as "The Man" to encourage young people NOT to vote. The sarcastic series has a following on MySpace TV, YouTube, and Break.
Bondage print ad campaign
[edit]To encourage voter registration among youth for the2008 presidential election,Declare Yourself hired photographers Mark Liddell and David LaChapelle to shoot abondage-themed print advertising campaign. The ads include models, including celebritiesChristina Aguilera,Jonathan Bennett,La Toya LondonandAndré 3000,[7]in various forms of bondage as a symbol of reducing one's voice by failing to register as a voter. The photos include the tag, "Only you can silence yourself." The ads drew national media attention, particularly those of actressJessica Alba,who wears no visible clothing and is bound with black tape over her mouth and chest. Alba said of the advertisement, "It didn't freak me out at all. What I like about Marc's work is that he tells a story and brings real emotion to his pictures."[8]
Creation of Our Time
[edit]In March 2011, Declare Yourself combined with theStudent Association for Voter Empowermentto becomeOur Time,a 501(c)(3) membership organization pushing for greater representation of all Americans under 30.[9][10]Matthew Segalis co-founder and president of OUR TIME.
Notes and references
[edit]- ^"PRESS RELEASE".AXA Equitable.AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company. 13 November 2003. Archived fromthe original(Press release)on 8 May 2012.RetrievedMay 19,2012.
- ^"Declaration of Independence".The Norman Lear Center.The Lear Center. Archived fromthe originalon May 3, 2012.RetrievedMay 19,2012.
- ^"DeclareYourself".normanlear.Archived fromthe originalon January 5, 2012.RetrievedMay 19,2012.
- ^"National Declaration of Independence tour to stop at MSU".Mississippi State University.RetrievedMay 19,2012.
- ^"Yahoo! Helps Declare Yourself Drive More Than 1 Million Young Americans to Download Voter Registration Forms for 2004 Election".Yahoo! recent news.Yahoo! Inc. 27 October 2004. Archived fromthe original(Press release)on 4 March 2016.RetrievedMay 19,2012.
- ^Nat Ives (13 July 2004)."GETTING OUT THE VOTE WITH STYLE"(News article).David LaChapelle.New York Times.RetrievedMay 19,2012.
- ^"Declare Yourself gallery."ArchivedSeptember 13, 2008, at theWayback MachineDeclareYourselfArchived2009-10-14 at the Portuguese Web Archive.Retrieved on 2008-09-16.
- ^"Jessica Alba's 'Shocking' Ad for Declare Yourself".People.Time Inc. 10 September 2008.RetrievedMay 19,2012.
- ^Stone, Andrea (March 25, 2011)."'AARP For Under 30 Set' Aims to Get Fair Share For Millennial Generation ".The Huffington Post.RetrievedMarch 25,2011.
- ^"About Declare Yourself".ourtime.org.Our Time. Archived fromthe originalon April 15, 2012.RetrievedMay 19,2012.