Paramount Launches Vote ’24 Campaign Ahead of MTV VMAs (Exclusive)

Decades after MTV began covering the presidential elections through the lens of young voters via its “Choose or Lose” programming, the network’s parent company, Paramount, is once again urging young people to make their voices heard in the 2024 election.

Ahead of the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, Paramount has launched its Vote ’24 campaign in partnership with the Ad Council.

People can go to the Vote ’24 online hub, VoteVoteVote.com, and check their registration status, register to vote, preview their ballot and find voting information and resources. The hub is powered by Headcount, the nonpartisan nonprofit voter registration organization that uses culture, digital media and music, including having a presence at concerts, to get people to register to vote and participate in democracy. Additionally, the Ad Council has shared the campaign with media platforms, organizations, schools, companies and individuals for free distribution.

“MTV has been driving young people to the polls and rocking the vote for more than 30 years, and each year this commitment to civic engagement has grown,” Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios’ senior vp, social impact, Brianna Cayo Cotter, said in a statement. “This year, we launched the campaign at one of music’s biggest nights and are partnering with the Ad Council to galvanize more brands and organizations to join us in our mission to see a record-breaking voter turnout come Nov. 5. In a year when an election can be decided by just a few thousand votes, it’s more vital than ever that people understand their power not only in turning up to vote, but also in turning out the vote among their friends, family and community.”

Ad Council president and CEO Lisa Sherman added, “Our elections are a critical time for civic engagement and for all Americans to weigh in on the future they want to see for this country. But it’s only when people ensure they’re registered, have a voting plan and cast ballots that votes can make a difference. We’re proud to continue our partnership with the team at Paramount to inspire young people to have their voices heard in the upcoming 2024 general election.” 

The Vote ’24 campaign aims to empower people to inspire their friends, families, neighbors and peers to vote, with Paramount and Ad Council citing a study from the mobile app Outvote and Columbia University’s Data Sciences Institute, conducted during the 2018 midterms with results reported in 2020, which found that a friend encouraging someone to vote increases that person’s likelihood of doing so by 8.3 percent, far more than mass text message campaigns from field organizers.

Paramount and Ad Council are also highlighting research that shows that more than 40 million Gen Zers are eligible to vote in the 2024 elections, with young people of color making up nearly half of newly eligible voters.

MTV will also launch activations on National Voter Registration Day, Vote Early Day and Election Day, seeking to close the nearly 10 percentage point voter gap between community college students and those going to four-year universities.

The campaign also includes a video that stresses the importance of just a single vote.

“How much difference can one vote make? Since 2023 more than 60 U.S. elections have been tied or won by just one vote so this fall you or a friend could be the tiebreaker and that could make all the difference,” a voiceover in the ad says. “People are more likely to vote when encouraged by a friend so use your power to decide this election. Make sure you’re good to vote and encourage your friends to make a voting plan at votevotevote.com.”

The VMAs were previously rescheduled from their original night of Tuesday, Sept. 10, to Wednesday Sept. 11, to avoid conflicting with the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.