A marketing company in Halifax is motivating voters ahead of the upcoming municipal election with help from a furry puppet and the satire campaign, Beaver 4 Mayor.
That’s right. Justin Beaver, as he’s known, is appealing to Haligonians to vote. In fact, he’s encouraging young voters to “give a dam” when it comes to local politics.
“I think everybody in politics right now wants a little more transparency about how things are done, they also want to take care of the big issues, housing, affordability — but not one of them have mentioned a dam, so they’re out of here,” Beaver told Global News.
So far, Justin Beaver has created social media videos with actual human politicians — such as provincial Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and Halifax mayoral candidate Pam Lovelace.
The campaign is the brainchild of Stenvar Creative. The company’s co-founder and art director, Sam Skorobogatov, said they wanted to make politics accessible.
“We wanted to make it lighthearted by using a beaver to create a little bit of fun, a little bit of a cheeky side to the politics that is way more approachable and might interest more people to get involved,” said Skorobogatov.
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“Voting is important, doesn’t matter what age you are, right? But I find a lot of young people don’t realize they also have a voice, also have opportunity to make a change.”
Currently, the company’s main focus is speaking to those eligible to vote. But once the election is over, they hope to introduce a campaign using the beaver to teach kids about politics. =
The municipal election takes place Oct. 19. There are 16 people running for mayor, and no, Justin Beaver is not one of them.
— with a file from Global News’ Rebecca Lau
