An Election Campaign Even“Average Joe” Could Understand

Planning:
Mellakka Helsinki
& N2 Creative

Production:
Mellakka Helsinki,
N2 Creative, N2 Studio

Client:
SAK

Starting Point

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Strategy

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Insight

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Starting Point ↓ Strategy ↓ Insight ↓

SAK’s Vaalistaja was a rule-breaking voter activation campaign that stripped away political jargon and translated complex issues into plain, understandable Finnish – giving SAK a bold new way to talk about important topics.

Political satire and humor were used to deliver labor movement themes and messages to the right audiences across all major social media platforms.

Starting Point

In Finland’s parliamentary elections, the country’s direction is decided for the next four years. After four years in power, the leading party often faces challenges securing another term.

Public debate had been dominated by COVID-19 and later by security policy and NATO. Within SAK, there was concern that working life issues might not surface in the election discussion at all and whether enough pro-labor candidates would be elected.

Would anyone advocate for workers if these issues didn’t gain visibility and if voters couldn’t identify candidates representing their interests?

Objectives

SAK tasked us with raising visibility and influence for the themes of SAK-affiliated trade unions ahead of the 2023 parliamentary elections. The campaign needed to engage not only existing union members but also attract new voters and spark their interest in work-life–positive candidates, whom SAK had compiled in its own election gallery.

The target audience included members of SAK’s trade unions (around 860,000 people) and potential members (100,000). Within this group, the focus was especially on reaching those who are inactive, undecided, or frustrated by the complexity of political discussions. The campaign was particularly aimed at engaging women aged 18–35.

A woman wearing glasses and a purple blazer, standing behind a green podium, holding a yellow highlighter, with a green wall and purple curtains in the background.
Young man in a purple blazer and jeans holding a large inflatable bottle labeled "VALLASTAJA.fi" against a bright yellow-green background, posing as if preparing to throw it.

Creative Solution

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Creative Solution ↓

Green check mark icon with a 3D appearance.

We had access to an enormous amount of data for example, how people had behaved in previous elections, what their political needs were, and how they consume media. While digging into the research data, we realized that people are interested in the issues, but they’re presented in such a complicated way that even “Joe” wouldn’t make sense of them.

Social media clearly dominated the target audience’s media usage. That’s why we decided to do something completely different from a traditional campaign relying on media advertising and press communications. We designed a massive content marketing campaign that extended across the web, social media, digital advertising, and outdoor media.

Vaalistaja – This is worth talking about!

Two show hosts, a woman and a man, peeking out from behind purple curtains. The woman is holding a large green marker with the logo 'VAAALLISTAJA.fi' and is dressed in a purple blazer. The man is also in a purple suit, and they are standing against a bright lime green background.

The Vaalistaja – This is worth talking about! concept stripped political and trade union jargon down to clear, straightforward Finnish, bringing the issues out from behind all the long-winded explanations.

Vaalistaja content was rolled out on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, the website, and newsletters. We also created dedicated channels specifically for Vaalistaja.

Additional impact was achieved through outdoor advertising and digital ads.

SAK Vaalistaja - Mellakka Helsinki

Solution

A tablet and a smartphone displaying a website with purple and yellow design, a yellow highlighter with the logo 'VAALSTAJAA.fi' and the slogan 'Tästä on syytä puhua', a yellow arrow pointing to the highlighter, and bright yellow and purple graphic elements on a purple background.
Two smartphones display social media pages for VAALI STAJAA, showcasing videos and posts related to election campaign jargon, with bright green, purple, and white backgrounds and images of people.

Execution

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Execution ↓

The content was formatted for each platform as short videos, memes, punchy statements, and in-depth articles. Hundreds of pieces were produced over the eight-week campaign. In addition, 10,000 Vaalistaja highlighter pens were printed as giveaway materials, and 500 campaign beanies were made. Twenty pieces of content were specifically created for advertising.

The crown jewel was the Vaalistaja weekly roundup video, released every Friday, which packaged the week’s most important topics into one digestible format. Because humor is a tricky art, we brought political satire professionals onto the team from the planning stage. Eeva Vekki and Johannes Mollberg scripted the videos and memes and served as the faces of the campaign.

SAK Vaalistaja - Mellakka Helsinki

A bright yellow-green foam or rubber band shaped into a three-dimensional number 8.

Execution

During the eight-week campaign we produced:

236

Instagram Stories

97

Instagram Posts

10 000

Vaalistaja Highlighters

185

Ad Content

39

TikTok Videos

500

Beanies

150

Facebook Stories

25

Articles

20

Ads

111

Facebook Posts

8

Newsletters

Weekly Roundup

The Vaalistaja Weekly Roundup is a video that packaged the week’s most important topics into a single format.
The roundup was released every Friday for eight consecutive weeks leading up to the elections.

Videos are presented in chronological order, from oldest to newest.

Jakso 1

Vaalistaja in the house! Aika purkaa vaaliteemat niin, että erkkikin sen ymmärtää! 🔥

Vastaamme tällä viikolla mm. onko 70 % paljon vai vähän, mitä suomalaiset jättävät ravintolaan ja miksi hovimestareilta pitäisi piilottaa kynttilänjalat. Ja miten mikään tästä liittyy vaaleihin?

Jakso 2

Monta miljardia Kiky-rescuekoira on maksanut Eevalle? Miten päivittää ”köyhä mee töihin” -kommentointi tähän päivään? Entä miten hyvin onnistuu kahden viikon ruokaostokset 20 €:lla ?💸✍️🤔

Katso video niin tiedät vastaukset näihin.

Jakso 3

Liittyykö Sanna Marinin biletys 💃 työttömyyteen? Onko parisuhdepostaukset 👩‍❤️‍👨 in vai out? Mitä tarkoittaa EK, Ei, Etla tai Etna? Katso video niin tiedät vastauksen näihin.

Jakso 4

Töitä tehdään palkan takia, mutta mitä jos siitä ei makseta? Kahvion munaleivätkään tuskin riittävät korvaukseksi🥲 Katso video niin tiedät millainen se munaleipä oikeasti on.

Jakso 5

Onnistuuko paikallinen sopiminen Ukkometson avulla? Onko virastotädit cool kun räppäävät vakavista aiheista? Katso video niin tiedät vastauksen näihin.

Jakso 6

Tarkoittaako veroale matkaa Santorinille? Kumman pussiin 5 miljardin euron tulonsiirto päätyi: sairaanhoitajan vai sähköntuottajan?💸 Katso video niin tiedät voiko matkan Santorinille jo varata.

Jakso 7

Nyt voi ennakkoäänestää! Tiedätkö jo mikä puolue on Veetien lemppari tai miksi kristillisdemokraateilla on viha-rakkaussuhde poskiin? Eeva ja Johannes lyövät faktat tiskiin tälläkin viikolla. :saluting_face:

Jakso 8

Näin vältät kivuliaat leikkaukset, tarpeettomat taivutukset sekä alaspäinlaskevan palkan.

  • Two people, a woman and a man, in purple blazers standing in front of a green and purple background with Finnish text and a button that says "Order Newsletters."
  • Two smiling people, a woman and a man, dressed in purple blazers, standing against a bright green background with purple curtains on the right. The woman is pointing to the left, and the man is extending his arm. There are graphic design elements, including a yellow arrow and circular lines. Text in Finnish and a call-to-action button with the words "TILAA UUTISKIRJE" (Subscribe to the newsletter).
  • Two smartphones displaying social media pages related to parliamentary elections, featuring videos and graphics about election jargon, campaign themes, and political candidates.
  • Two men with purple blazers demonstrating contrasting effects of work hours: the first man shows neck pain with extended hours, and the second man appears happy with shortened hours, with Finnish text explaining the concepts.
  • Two overlapping posters with Finnish text, a blue heart, and a person wearing a medical mask in a medical protective gown. The background is dark purple with bright green swirl lines.
  • An illuminated outdoor billboard advertising fashion trend colors, featuring a large blue paint swirl and Finnish text, on a city street at dusk with moving cars.
  • A digital advertisement for trendy jeans featuring a pair of blue jeans, with Finnish text promoting finding suitable candidates and a website link, displayed on a glass storefront window.
  • A Finnish political campaign poster with bold black and purple text, highlighting a blue abstract shape on a white background, encouraging voting for Kaupallinen Vaalilistaja.fi.
  • A promotional flyer featuring wide-leg jeans and Finnish text endorsing them as a trendy, comfortable fashion choice for spring, encouraging voting for a candidate by listening to employee votes.
  • Finnish political campaign advertisement for a red belt, encouraging voting for a specific candidate, with text promoting waiting for spring and voting on a bill.

Results

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Results ↓

A neon green foam arrow pointing to the upper right.

Vaalistaja content, created through humor and political satire, captured attention and addressed complex election topics in a relatable, human-centered way.

The Vaalistaja tone of voice became the communication model for the entire campaign, for both SAK and its member unions and activists.

Throughout the campaign, we repeatedly reached the desired target audience. The Vaalistaja tone of voice and approach to presenting issues received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the audience, SAK’s member unions, and their members, along with plenty of laughing-face emojis.

Most importantly, 54 work-life–positive candidates featured in SAK’s election gallery were elected to Parliament, and Vaalistaja helped bring topics like the “kiky” discussion into national conversation.

SAK Vaalistaja - Mellakka Helsinki

Results

Results

2,3 milj.

FB ja IG Reach

18 000

Reactions and Comments (TikTok)

2,9 milj.

Ad Impressions (Display)

15 milj.

FB ja IG Impressions

11 348

Videos Watched in Minutes (Facebook)

2,2 milj.

Ad Impressions (OOH)

700 000

Youtube Video Views

17 061

Engagement (Facebook)

+16,5%

Newsletter Subscribers

254 000

TikTok Video Views

37 000

Visitors on Campaign Website

54

Elected Parliament Members

Client Experience

  • “The concept, which relied heavily on political satire and humor, took us a little time to digest at first. We wondered whether it might harm SAK’s expert brand. We had previous experience with this type of approach, and not always with great results. This was the first time it succeeded in this particular combination.”

    Marjo Pihlajaniemi, Communications Manager, SAK

  • “Mellakka brought us a very different concept, approach, and channel mix. This way of working was new to us, but Mellakka established clear frameworks and responsibilities for our joint efforts. We have an established model for running campaigns, where, for example, the entire campaign team sits in the same room. This time, it felt like the Mellakka team was sitting in the room with us the whole time, and we ran the campaign very collaboratively.”

    Marjo Pihlajaniemi, Communications Manager, SAK

  • “Our entire campaign team was mobilized to produce campaign materials. In addition, a large team from Mellakka participated, along with, of course, Vaalistaja’s Eeva and Johannes. Over the course of the eight-week campaign, we collaboratively produced hundreds of pieces of content.”

    Marjo Pihlajaniemi, Communications Manager, SAK

  • “One measure of success for us was how SAK members, our member unions, and their members received the campaign. Usually, every campaign draws some criticism, but this time people got excited, reacted with laughing-face emojis, and joined in. The campaign was launched at an event designed around the Vaalistaja concept, hosted by Eeva Vekki as one of the Vaalistajas. I don’t remember exactly who, but someone commented on the event saying, ‘There hasn’t been a launch this lively and engaging since the days of the markka.’ To me, that’s the best feedback we could receive.”

    Marjo Pihlajaniemi, Communications Manager, SAK