A Better Maine
CLIENT: Democratic Governors Association
Role: Creative Director
Scriptwriting, CONCEPT CREATION,
Art Direction, Production Management
in partnership with: Kim Bariring (DESIGN + animation LEAD)
VIDEO STUDIO: HARDPIN
Paul LePage proudly called himself the "Trump before Trump was Trump.” His actions as governor during his 8 years as Maine's governor from 2011 to 2019 proved it. In 2022, he ran again. Several weeks out from Election Day, polling data showed it was a close race between him and the Democratic incumbent, Janet Mills. Our team’s challenge was to move the needle.
AGENCY strategy
We tried out a couple of creative tests, some more straightforward and some that leaned into quotes from LePage himself. Our tests showed that LePage was the Democrats’ best messenger — his words turned voters off.
Our team broke down the digital program into two tracks:
One would focus on what LePage had done in his two terms by reminding swing voters that Paul LePage had hurt Mainers.
The second would aim to increase turnout with what we called a “Young, for Maine” audience — independents and Democrats under 50.
Visual direction
Our goal was for a look that grabbed the viewer’s attention and did not feel like a traditional ad. There was a glitch in Maine’s system and we aimed to highlight that in bold, unexpected visuals.
Cuts and Chaos
Audience: Swing Voters
The first of the swing voter-focussed video concepts reminded voters what a LePage-led Maine had looked like before. We led with facts and the topics that mattered most to Mainers. With the help of a production agency, we found a folksy V.O. choice and contrasted it with the intense, striking, glitchy visuals my team developed.
We targeted swing voters with the “Cuts and Chaos” video, social and display advertising, news promotion, and partnerships with local media outlets. Our goal was to inundate voters with our messaging anywhere and everywhere we could.
Maine’s ChoIce
Audience: Swing Voters
The next ad was something far more concept-forward. This ad suite would be among many other political ads running at the time and we aimed for something that stood out. A robotic voice invited Mainers to examine the facts in a quiz-like visual that compared and contrasted the two candidates. My team also created a homepage takeover ad suite that would run on local publications with similar visuals.
His Own Words
Audience: Voters under 50
At the time of the election, Maine had the oldest population in the United States. This presented an interesting challenge for our creative team; we knew the ads would be targeted to a broad range of voters under 50 in Maine. We needed to draw in younger voters but not alienate our older audience.
To do this, we took LePage’s extreme quotes on abortion and used them against him in bright, bold designs that had huge lettering accessible for anyone. LePage’s words spoke for themselves, as our partner’s research had already proven.
The Results
Three weeks out from the election, things began to change. Younger voters were moving–– and leaning toward Governor Mills.
With just days left in the election, our ads team kept our foot on the gas, and increased the frequency and volume of the ads.
After November 2022, our agency was proud to have supported the Democratic Governors Association and A Better Maine to successfully re-elect Gov. Janet Mills.