The 2020 US Presidential Election was unusual in many ways, with much division between the different political groups, plus the impact of the pandemic. In this setting, creative agency Barbarian was commissioned by Biden for President to motivate an apathetic and rattled public to vote while educating them on all the strange new voting options available.

Barbarian’s solution was two-fold: to be empathetic, and to be different. The team aimed to create a campaign that would stand out in a sea of political messaging that all looked the same, plus also respond to the strangeness of the times. They created a suite of playful characters, including one named Votey McVoterson, which had enough humour and charm to hold focus, subside fears, and spread good vibes. Featuring a deliberately retro vibe that aimed to emulate animated educational programmes from childhood, the characters were used to guide voters and untangle confusion about returning a vote.

The characters were brought to life by animators at Psyop and narrated by celebrities including comedian Margaret Cho and talk show host Andy Cohen. In total, more than 700 original assets were created for the campaign in just seven weeks.

Agency: Barbarian
ECD: Resh Sidhu
Creative Director: Carla DelPorto
Design Director: Peter Chlebak
Associate Creative Director: Brent Weldon
Senior Designer: Judy Su
Senior Animator: Juan Mont
Senior Art Director: Kayla Zegar
Art Director: Angel Ang
Design Director: Hanzy Kim
Senior Copywriter: Joe Tirabassi
Creative Directors: Leo Vladamirsky, Roe Laphermsook, Eric Burnett
Associate Creative Directors: Emily Uram, Ben Waldman
Senior Designer: Kitty Mok
Animators: Carlos Torres, Aaron Halevy, Aaron Goldberg, Grace Shin, Kadeem Dick, Nick Herms
Executive Producer: Joe Guyt
Production: Alex Hernandez, Jared Leong
Editor: Khadija Abuyousif
Managing Director: Courtney Berry
Group Account Director: Erica Giordano
Account Directors: Courtney Ridenhour, Nicole Daniel, Jordana Biancosino
Account Supervisors: Amanda Lederman, Joe Lipton
Senior Project Manager: Nikki Green
Client: Biden for President
Paid Media Director: Patrick Bonsignore
Executive Producer: Daniel Maughan
Mobilisation Creative Lead: Oren Fliegelman
Director of States Paid Media: Scott Syroka
Mobilisation Production Leads: Jordan Bailey-Hoover, Brett Lake
Mobilisation Paid Media: Jing Qu