Vote Design: two new EU referendum campaigns target minority and youth groups

Two new EU referendum campaigns have launched in two days as momentum gathers in the last few weeks before the vote on 23 June.

The first, by Saatchi & Saatchi with Operation Black Vote, is aimed at the Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, aiming to encourage them to register to vote. The poster depicts an elderly Asian British woman being berated by an aggressive white man, sitting opposite each other on a perfectly balanced see-saw, with the slogan “A vote is a vote.”

The provocative photographs by Alex Telfer are intended to empower the estimated 4m BAME voters to use their voice, and show their equality. Andy Jex and Rob Potts were executive creative directors on the campaign, which will feature on digital poster sites in London and Manchester.

Another campaign by venturethree is aimed at young people, encouraging them to vote to remain in the EU. The posters feature photographs emblazoned with bold type, showing slogans surrounding the theme #Votin — one, for example, shows a young girl in a workshop, overlaid with the words “Workin, Earnin, Makin, #Votin." Badges and beermats also show the phrase “EU in?”

“The campaign talks to young people as young people, cutting jargon and cliche and replacing them with irreverence and the odd joke,” says Scott Townsin, designer at venturethree. “It’s obvious. It’s loud. But we felt for this audience, it had to be.” This campaign was spearheaded by education minister Sam Gyimah.