This Campaign Encourages 400 Million Europeans to Vote

Between June 6-9th, the world’s second-largest democratic exercise takes place, as European citizens are to decide the future of Europe by casting their votes at the European Elections 2024. 

For the second time in a row, creative agency &Co./ NoA won the task of creating the Parliament’s election campaign film, aiming to convince more than 400 million eligible voters across 27 member states to get out and vote.

At its heart lies a compelling short-form documentary featuring grandparents and grandchildren from across Europe.

The film captures authentic and unscripted moments between generations, offering the older citizens an opportunity to share their life stories, living with – and for some without – democracy, and to extend a message to their grandchildren. And to the rest of Europe.

“In the emotional connection between the European elders, who have most elections behind them, and their grandchildren, the campaign creates a bond between the past and the future, and hopefully shows, that democracy is a responsibility we have towards each other,” says Johan Køhler, partner and creative director at & Co. / NoA.

An evolving idea

The idea for the campaign evolved in the process. 

“First it was about remembering our past, because so many parallels can be drawn to today’s challenges. But instead of just looking backwards in the making, the focus shifted into looking forward and passing on democracy to the coming generations”, says Johan Køhler. “To tell that story, we tapped into an intimate space – the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren.” 

The documentary approach meant that when filming began, the exact outcome was uncertain.        

However, on the first day of filming, one of the first interviews was with 95-year-old Monique from France. An hour later, the team behind the campaign knew, that if the final film could convey just a fragment of what they had just felt, they were on track to create something special. 

Why (don’t) we vote?

For the 2019 elections half the eligible voters in Europe turned out. One might hastily conclude that only half of us deem voting and democracy important. 

But that is not the case.  

Even though our differences really come out at election time, the survey shows, that the elections themselves are built on beliefs, we truly share. 

More than four of five Europeans agree that “Voting is important to keep democracy strong”, that “Voting is important to ensure a better future for the next generations”, and that “The current international context makes voting even more important”. 

And when asked about the values the European Parliament should defend, peace is the most frequently mentioned, followed by democracy. 

“These results from the Eurobarometer survey show, that Europeans are aware, that democracy is a collective responsibility – not towards a political idea or a specific cause – but towards each other. And of all the things that bring us contentment, the responsibility we freely feel for others is the most powerful”, says Trine Eisinger, partner and client service director at & Co. / NoA.   

“We are more united in European democracy, than we might think: Across nations, political notions, and across generations. But we forget it, and that is what the creative concept is made to remind us of.”

A dream to make. And a logistical challenge. 

Due to the nature of the documentary, naturally, it is not scripted. It meant that no one knew how it would play out once the cameras were rolling. And while this did create nervous tensions, letting go of control was crucial to the idea:

“It is not a campaign with an approved wording made by focus groups and copywriters; it is older Europeans getting the chance to pass on their thoughts and experiences with democracy to their grandchildren”, says Johan Køhler from &Co. “We as viewers are sort of a secondary target group”. 

But the format also brought challenges, to say the least. Both on set and in the editing suite.

“Authenticity is key. So, everybody speaks their national language. It was a dream to make – but it was also a logistical challenge”, says Mette Carla, director on the project. 

“We had to have interpreters on set for each participant, and on top of that, more than 12 hours of material had to be translated word by word, before the editor and I could even begin to make selections. But hearing all these European languages together is, at least to me, also part of the message of a European unity – and why we should vote.” 

An experience that stays with us forever

Besides the documentary, the campaign also consists of a range of shorter edits where the old and the young participants talk about the importance of voting together. The old from a perspective of having lived a long life, and the young from a perspective of having it all in front of them.

“The attendance of so many nationalities and personalities on set brought a sense of authenticity and depth to the campaign. The tension in the room became evident as the grandparents addressed their grandchildren directly. Their powerful bond shined through and you could feel the elders deeply heartfelt desire for a better future for their grandchildren. It was a profoundly touching moment,” says Johan Køhler. 

“The contribution from all the participants, young and old from all over Europe, was immeasurable and made a significant impact on the entire process. Their knowledgeable and heart-warming stories will stay with us forever, but for the final film, a timeframe of four minutes was given”. 

The campaign goes live today and will run across TV, cinema, radio, social media, digital mass media, and streaming platforms.