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.
“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