Declare Yourself

Last updated

Declare Yourself was an American campaign that aimed to encourage young people to register to vote. The campaign was founded by philanthropist, Norman Lear in 2004 and was led by former American presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. The 2004 campaign consisted of a road trip to towns across the country to educate people about the United States Declaration of Independence and 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 on YouTube and MySpace to promote voting and the 2011 campaign featured a bondage-themed photo series comparing not voting to restricting yourself. In 2011, Declare Yourself merged with another campaign to form the nonprofit, Our Time.

Contents

Purpose

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-profit nonpartisan project 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 philanthropist Norman Lear, and led by Honorary Co-Chairs and former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald 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

In 2006, three public service announcements (PSAs) were released, each directed by David 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 of Pimp 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's Reno 911!. The series, entitled The 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

To encourage voter registration among youth for the 2008 presidential election, Declare Yourself hired photographers Mark Liddell and David LaChapelle to shoot a bondage-themed print advertising campaign. The ads include models, including celebrities Christina Aguilera, Jonathan Bennett, La Toya London and André 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 actress Jessica 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

In March 2011, Declare Yourself combined with the Student Association for Voter Empowerment to become Our Time, a 501(c)(3) membership organization pushing for greater representation of all Americans under 30. [9] [10] Matthew Segal is co-founder and president of OUR TIME.

Notes and references

  1. "PRESS RELEASE". AXA Equitable. AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company. 13 November 2003. Archived from the original (Press release) on 8 May 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  2. "Declaration of Independence". The Norman Lear Center. The Lear Center. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  3. "DeclareYourself.com". normanlear.com. normanlear.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  4. "National Declaration of Independence tour to stop at MSU". Mississippi State University. Mississippi State University. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  5. "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 from the original (Press release) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  6. Nat Ives (13 July 2004). "GETTING OUT THE VOTE WITH STYLE" (News article). David LaChapelle. New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  7. "Declare Yourself gallery." Archived September 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine DeclareYourself.com Archived 2009-10-14 at the Portuguese Web Archive. Retrieved on 2008-09-16.
  8. "Jessica Alba's 'Shocking' Ad for Declare Yourself". People. Time Inc. 10 September 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  9. Stone, Andrea (March 25, 2011). "'AARP For Under 30 Set' Aims to Get Fair Share For Millennial Generation". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  10. "About Declare Yourself". ourtime.org. Our Time. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Declaration of Independence</span> 1776 American national founding document

The Declaration of Independence, formally titled The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, who had convened at the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall, in the colonial era capital of Philadelphia. The declaration explains to the world why the Thirteen Colonies regarded themselves as independent sovereign states no longer subject to British colonial rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Lear</span> American television writer and producer (1922–2023)

Norman Milton Lear was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including All in the Family (1971–1979), Maude (1972–1978), Sanford and Son (1972–1977), One Day at a Time (1975–1984), The Jeffersons (1975–1985), and Good Times (1974–1979). His shows introduced political and social themes to the sitcom format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish independence</span> Independence movement in Europe

Scottish independence is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Taiwanese presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 20 March 2004. A consultative referendum took place on the same day regarding relations with the People's Republic of China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Alba</span> American actress and businesswoman (born 1981)

Jessica Marie Alba is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her acting career at age 13 in Camp Nowhere (1994), followed up by The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as the lead actress of the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Wishart</span> Scottish politician

Peter Wishart is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and musician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Perth and North Perthshire, formerly North Tayside, since the 2001 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LaToya London</span> American musical artist (born 1978)

LaToya Renee London is an American R&B and soul singer and stage actress who was fourth-place finalist on the third season of American Idol. Her debut album, Love & Life, was released in September 2005 and spawned a number of moderate R&B chart hits. She has concentrated on stage work, including originating and performing the role of Nettie in the national tour of the Broadway musical The Color Purple from 2007 to 2010, for which she won an Ovation Award. She was the lead in the U.S. regional debut of The Bodyguard, a musical based on the 1992 film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People for the American Way</span> American progressive advocacy group

People For the American Way, or PFAW, is a progressive advocacy group in the United States. Organized as a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, PFAW was registered in 1981 by the television producer Norman Lear, a self-described liberal who founded the organization in 1980 to challenge the Christian right agenda of the Moral Majority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alyssa Milano</span> American actress (born 1972)

Alyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress, producer, activist, and former singer. She has played Samantha Micelli in Who's the Boss?, Jennifer Mancini in Melrose Place, Phoebe Halliwell in Charmed, Billie Cunningham in My Name Is Earl, Savannah "Savi" Davis in Mistresses, Renata Murphy in Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, and Coralee Armstrong in Insatiable.

Rock the Vote is a non-profit liberal organization in the United States. Through registering new young voters, the group aims to "channel the energy among young people around racial, economic, and health justice into one of the most powerful actions they can take: voting."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth vote in the United States</span>

The youth vote in the United States is the cohort of 18–24 year-olds as a voting demographic, though some scholars define youth voting as voters under 30. Many policy areas specifically affect the youth of the United States, such as education issues and the juvenile justice system; however, young people also care about issues that affect the population as a whole, such as national debt and war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Ukrainian independence referendum</span>

A referendum on the Act of Declaration of Independence was held in Ukraine on 1 December 1991. An overwhelming majority of 93% of voters approved the declaration of independence made by the Verkhovna Rada on 24 August 1991. Voters were asked "Do you support the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine?" The text of the Declaration was included as a preamble to the question. The referendum was called by the Parliament of Ukraine to confirm the Act of Independence, which was adopted by the Parliament on 24 August 1991. Citizens of Ukraine expressed overwhelming support for independence. In the referendum, 31,891,742 registered voters took part, and among them 28,804,071 voted "Yes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish republicanism</span> Movement to make Scotland a republic

Scottish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that Scotland should be a republic; the nation is currently a monarchy as part of the United Kingdom. Republicanism is associated with Scottish nationalism and the Scottish independence movement, but also with British republicanism and the movement for federalism in the United Kingdom.

18 in ’08 is a non-profit, nonpartisan peer to peer youth voter engagement and mobilization organization. It was co-founded in 2007 by David D. Burstein, who is the current executive director, and his parents. 18 in ‘08 is the first national youth voter organization to be run by someone under 21.

No Land! No House! No Vote! is the name of a campaign by a number of poor people's movements in South Africa that calls for the boycotting of the vote and a general rejection of party politics and vote banking. The name is meant to imply that if government does not deliver on issues important to affected communities these movements will not vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Time (nonprofit)</span> American nonprofit organization

Our Time is an American organization founded by Matthew Segal and Jarrett Moreno, focused on organizing campaigns that register and educate voters, advocating for economic opportunity, and covering political news aimed at young Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Segal</span>

Matthew Segal is the co-founder of ATTN:, a Los Angeles–based media company that makes entertainment that informs, and an American social entrepreneur and media commentator. He previously co-founded Our Time, a nationwide non-profit network of young Americans promoting economic and voter empowerment.

Voto Latino is a dual 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States, founded in 2004. The organization's primary aim is to encourage young Hispanic and Latino voters to register to vote and become more politically involved. The organization was co-founded by Rosario Dawson and Phil Colón. The current president and CEO is María Teresa Kumar.

Yes Scotland was the organisation representing the parties, organisations, and individuals campaigning for a Yes vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. It was launched on 25 May 2012 and dissolved in late 2014 after Scotland voted against independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Ukrainian sovereignty referendum</span>

A sovereignty referendum was held in the Ukrainian SSR on 17 March 1991 as part of a USSR-wide referendum. Voters were asked two questions on reforming the Soviet Union into a confederation of sovereign states. Most voters supported the proposal, although in the pro-independence oblasts of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Ternopil, voters opted for independence as part of an additional question.