The election may be over but the fight for voting rights remains a huge issue in the U.S. Following up on its sports star-studded push to recruit poll workers in September, voting rights organization More Than a Vote is teaming up with agency SS+K to kick off efforts to combat voter suppression.
More Than a Vote is an organization launched by a collective of Black athletes and artists, and member LeBron James is the voice of its latest ad, aimed at keeping Black voters engaged in the election process.
In the spot, James sets up the scene as one of success, showing what “we did” in having the Black vote represented in record numbers, with images of election celebrities Amanda Gorman, Stacey Abrams and empowered voters. That is immediately counteracted with the explanation that many organizations and political parties are trying to silence Black voters through methods like staggering the postal service and through more than 250 bills trying to restrict voting rights across 43 states.
“They saw what we’re capable of, and they fear it,” states James in the video, saying that the fight is just starting.
The video ends with a push to the More Than a Vote website. It’s part of the “Protect Our Power” campaign, done with agency SS+K, that will fight against the new wave of voter suppression efforts. The campaign will include branded content featuring athletes and artists and a digital organizing campaign aimed at shining a light on this new wave of voter suppression in an attempt to stop it in its tracks.
“More Than A Vote has always been about more than a single vote or a single election. And this video, narrated by More Than A Vote leader Lebron James, is a continuation of that mission,” SS+K executive creative director Stevie Archer said in a statement.
More Than a Vote recently announced a partnership with the NBA, NBPA, and Georgia NAACP aimed at shining a light on these various attacks on voting rights throughout the NBA All Star weekend in Atlanta, which is where the ad first aired.
In addition to the current campaign, More Than A Vote also looks to tackle the American criminal justice system and police brutality.