David Gianatasio, Adweek
“Just like the whole of consumer marketing, political campaigns and social-issues advertisers—especially in this midterm election year—have millennials in their sights. And like all brand marketers, they’re getting smarter about getting through to the hard-to-reach demo. Looking at the numbers, it’s little wonder why millennials are such a target. Those born between 1981 and the early 2000s make up a quarter of the U.S. population, and roughly 45 million are eligible to vote. That is expected to double by 2020, when millennials will comprise 40 percent of eligible voters. Clearly, Gen Y will play a major role at the ballot box in the midterms, and represents a key demo for Democrats and Republicans in the 2016 presidential race and beyond.
The “Got Insurance?” campaign, created by the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative and ProgressNow Colorado Education, was more polarizing [than others]. With an eye toward college students, highly sharable digital content followed the misadventures of “Rob, Zack and Sam—bros for life.” One ad begins: “Keg stands are crazy. Not having insurance is crazier. Don’t tap into your beer money to cover those medical bills.” Reads another: “Yo Mom, do I got insurance? My girlfriend broke my heart, so me and the bros went golfing. Then my buddy broke my head. Good thing my mom made sure I got insurance.”
While some contended that the ads talked down to their audience, Adam Fox, director of strategic engagement at CCHI, maintains that millennials got the joke. “Our website had nearly 25 million hits, the ads were shared thousands of times on social media, and we received massive earned media coverage worth over $500,000 in publicity value,” he reports.”
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