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Julie Ruiz
  • Work
  • ABOUT
  • Contact

THINGS

After the 2017 presidential election, people had a lot to say. So VICELAND provided a platform for sharing frustrations, opinions, and support. Made in collaboration with artist Andrew Miller of Brand Spirit, THINGS presents universal objects as iconic representations of current political issues and renders them blank. By removing color and context, THINGS forced the question: what do these things mean to you? The project kicked off with social posts and on-air teases that featured the objects with a phone number to "Leave your message". Thousands of messages piled in. From that, we re-posted the most interesting messages with the objects, continuing the conversation. The project was expanded internationally, creating new THINGS relevant to the UK, France, Belgium, and more. Each item was then collected into a microsite and exhibited in gallery shows around the world, reminding us that listening is as important as being heard.

With the 2018 midterms, we thought it was a great opportunity to expand the campaign into a voter registration campaign. Partnering with the I AM A VOTER initiative we saw this as our audience’s biggest opportunity to shape the country and the battlefield of American politics for generations. Voting initiatives tend to rely on the same old clichés: visual clutter and cringe-worthy, condescending messaging. We decided to take a less-is-more approach, strip back the visuals and let young people speak for themselves. The expanded campaign was a 360 success including a full VICE shutdown to promote voter registration.

By championing the issues and letting young people speak, we drove 18,000 new registrations for what would be the highest midterm election turnout in over a hundred years.

Creative: VICELAND Creative Team

Artist: Andrew Miller

Photography: Piotr Sikora

Production Design: Sasha Flimlin

Awards: Cannes Lions Shortlisted, Clios 3 Gold, 1 Bronze, ADC Awards 2 Bronze, 1 Merit, Promax 3 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze

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