André 3000

Christina Aguilera

Declare Yourself, the national nonpartisan, nonprofit initiative energizing a new movement of young adults to vote in the 2004 election, launched its provocative print, broadcast and online PSA campaign called "Only You Can Silence Yourself."

Working with advertising agency Benenson Janson, the Declare Yourself campaign was photographed and directed by David LaChapelle. It features a mix of "real people" and young celebrities, including Andre 3000, Christina Aguilera, Amber Tamblyn ("Joan of Arcadia"), Jonathan Bennett ("Mean Girls"), Yoanna House ("America's Next Top Model 2"), and La Toya London ("American Idol 3"), among others.

The PSAs will begin running in a variety of magazines, Web sites and on radio and television outlets nationwide later this month. Yahoo!, the Premiere Online Partner of Declare Yourself, will exclusively host the online debut of the PSA campaign. To view the campaign, visit http://vote.yahoo.com and www.DeclareYourself.com.

The overall concept of the campaign is anything but subtle, featuring glamorously shot yet graphic depictions of young Americans literally silencing themselves by sealing their mouths through a variety of methods. For example, Aguilera's print ad shows her mouth stitched shut in a style resembling a corset, while Andre 3000 has his signature bow tie stuffed into his mouth. Both of these print PSAs will appear on two Clear Channel-owned billboards situated prominently in the heart of Times Square. As the media and entertainment partner of Declare Yourself, Clear Channel donated the billboards and its radio division will support the campaign by airing spots on local stations across the country.

The Declare Yourself broadcast spots begin innocently, yet build up to a stop-in-your-tracks visual of a sealed mouth, confounding what viewers expect to see in a typical broadcast spot. Consider the following:

-- "Vanity" -- Yoanna House appears to be in a commercial for a new lip gloss, "Indifference," that touts the virtues of being "uninterrupted by thoughts," and offering a "super-shine for lips that form no opinion." The final shot is of House wearing Indifference lip gloss, which forms a seal over her mouth, making her unable to speak despite her strained attempts.

-- "Phat Ride" -- In what looks like a typical makeover show, a car is being re-tooled with new paint and rims on a show called "Phat Ride." The show's host outlines the makeover by describing hydraulics to make the car "drive low like your standards," and a "perfect distraction from thinking about the future." Jonathan Bennett follows the lead by drilling his mouth shut with nuts and bolts.

-- "Dog Food" -- In the spot for "Apathy" dog food, Amber Tamblyn feeds and plays with her pet as she dreams of having a dog's life without a care in the world. That reality is realized as the scene cuts to a shot of Tamblyn on all fours with a muzzle over her mouth.

The campaign also includes three 30-second radio PSAs. Taking a more humorous approach than the televised spots, the radio campaign features a variety of characters discussing inane topics, such as an "airhead" discussing the importance of eyebrow grooming. After such banter, the announcer cuts in saying that while free speech is a right no one has to listen to or agree with, voting is a right that can't be ignored.

"The challenge of this campaign is to convey the importance of voting in a powerful manner that does not preach, and remains nonpartisan," said Andrew Janson, chief executive officer, Benenson Janson. "While staying true to the nature of Declare Yourself, these PSAs are impactful and inspire action without any specific political agenda."

"Before you can get young people to act, you have to get them to react, and that's what we believe our PSAs do," said Norman Lear, founder of Declare Yourself. "We want those who see the spots to stop, look, discuss, and, ultimately, become inspired to take action."