With the recently ended South African election and Malawi’s upcoming election next week, it’s a good time to look at past campaigns that sought to inspire people to exercise their civic duty and vote.
McDonalds India – Don’t Give Up Your Right To Choose
McDonalds ran a campaign in which people that did not vote were given a McVeggie regardless of whatever they may have ordered. This was meant so they could experience how it feels not to have a choice.
Burger King Blank Whooper
In Brazil voting is compulsory but 11% of the population vote null or blank. To raise awareness of this issue and encourage people to vote, passers-by in the area of Sao Paulo, the most populous city in Brazil, were stopped and asked about whether they were planning to vote in the upcoming election.
They were then presented with an interactive board with the option to leave the voting slip blank or cast a vote. The majority of people confirmed they would leave it blank, triggering the delivery of a burger for taking part in the experiment.
Much to their disappointment, the volunteers found their burger to be lacking everything but the bun, onions and mayonnaise. A blank burger. This was Burger King’s metaphor for a blank voting slip; a whopper chosen by somebody else.