Atlanta

Provocative viral ad urges people to get their ‘booty to the polls’ this November

By Matt Johnson, WSB-TV
By Matt Johnson, WSB-TV

ATLANTA — Some metro Atlanta exotic dancers are hoping a new viral ad will get people’s “booty to the polls”, and the millions of views on the ad will translate into votes in November’s election.

Atlanta filmmakers and dancers are behind the viral voting PSA that has now been seen by more than two million people.

The provocative 90-second video directs people toward its website, where they can register in as little as two minutes.

“It did grab people’s attention. And I think we did it the right way,” said Paul Fox, a producer of the campaign.

He says tapping into Atlanta’s culture is a way to reach men before November’s election.

“I think that is what’s important is that the dialog is open. And I think that this is going to lead the way for these political organizations to start to actually target and market Black men for voting purposes,” Fox said.

The crowdfunded project is racking up views this week and also some criticism for its methods.

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“I see a lot of criticism, I think that there are a lot of people who don’t want Black people to vote,” Fox said. “We’re very underrepresented, you know, group of people, as far as political concerns are. And so, it’ll be really nice, you know, for that to hopefully change in the future.”

Black men make up about 13% of U.S. voters.

About 46% of them didn’t vote in in the last presidential election, according to a Pew Research Center poll.

“I’ve had several people contact me and say that they’re making sure that they go, they get their booties to the polls, and vote this year,” said Coy Malone, who is an Atlanta dancer and actress who is in the video.

She told Channel 2′s Matt Johnson that she wanted to be involved to make sure people pay attention to more than the national elections.

“It’s not just about Democratic and Republican or independent candidates. It’s also about voting on things that affect you directly within your local government,” Malone said.

The campaign doesn’t endorse any candidates, but it leans into topics like police brutality, education and racial injustice.

“This election means to me that there are changes that can actually happen, if we have representation at the polls,” Malone said.

Nse Ufot is the CEO of the New Georgia Project and oversees a statewide effort to register Georgia voters.

“I loved it. I absolutely loved it. Listen, every voter, every election, we mean it,” Ufot said.

She said the more people find new ways to get involved in the election, the more they can battle what she calls voter suppression.

“This is a moment where we all need to be doing what we can to make sure that we have robust, full participation in our elections, because there’s been so much doubt and insecurity injected into the process,” Ufot said.

For Paul Fox, he wants the millions of views to turn into votes.

“There’s power in your vote. And if it weren’t, powerful people wouldn’t be actively fighting it anyway,” Fox said.

The deadline to register for the November election is Oct. 5.

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