Will Dempster Partner, Head of Production

ABOUT

Gerrymandering is when U.S. politicians redraw voting district lines to give themselves an unfair advantage in elections. It allows politicians to pick their voters from behind closed doors, instead of voters picking their politicians. It affects 70% of the country, nearly 188 million people, and the maps drawn in 2021 will be in effect for 10 years. On September 27, 2021, Texas announced their new congressional district map, including a new 37th district in Austin that diminishes the voting power of minorities. We needed to move fast to inform Texans about gerrymandering before the maps were confirmed. So, just three weeks after Texas’s district maps were unveiled, we opened the doors of Gerry’s Partisan Pizza, a corrupt pizza shop that served and delivered free pizza, but only within the bounds of the gerrymandered 37th voting district. Not one block farther. We exposed the corruption of gerrymandering by hand-picking our customers the exact same way that politicians hand-pick their voters. We then went on a two-week food truck tour, giving out pizzas to residents of gerrymandered districts all across the country. From Texas to Wisconsin, we covered over 5,000 miles of gerrymandered land, and served over 6,000 slices of pizza. The results proved that turning a complicated issue into something that would resonate with people - free pizza - worked. We had segments on broadcast news in every city we stopped in, resulting in over 350 million earned media impressions and a reach of 2.18 million. Elected officials including the sitting Governor of Maryland stopped by Gerry’s, and 35% of people who engaged with our number called their Senator to demand change. And then on December 6, 2021, the Justice Department of the Biden administration sued Texas over their gerrymandered maps. Our awareness campaign turned into real action.

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MADEIT CREDITS

  • Represent UsClient
  • Aaron MasonAudio Mix
  • Aaron WhitmanEditor
  • Alison WhisenantAccount Director
  • Bianca GuimaraesExecutive Creative Director
  • Billy SiegristPhotographer
  • Brad TurnerExecutive Producer
  • Brian EttingExecutive Producer
  • Christina CulianosSenior Producer
  • Dan AdlersteinDirector of Photography
  • Danielle BalanovProducer
  • Dini von MuefflingOwner
  • Dini Von Mueffling ConsultingPR / Marketing Agency
  • Evan StarkmanPresident
  • Graham LynnPresident
  • Helen ReigerSenior Art Director
  • Hunter FineCreative Director
  • Joe KabourekSenior Campaign Manager
  • John ShaftoColorist
  • Kevin MulroyExecutive Creative Director
  • LaserjuicePost Production Company
  • MacKenzie HartCopywriter
  • Micah PertaDirector
  • Mischief @ No Fixed AddressAgency
  • Murray TriderAudio Mix
  • Paula ErazunWardrobe
  • Rajasri NarasimhanSenior Account Director
  • Remy GrohDirector of Production
  • Sabrina SaccenteJunior Designer
  • Sam CrawfordAccount Supervisor
  • Steve UnlimitedProduction Company
  • The Bait ShoppeProduction Company
  • Tony GasparroArt
  • Zachary GreenProducer
  • Greg HahnChief Creative Officer
  • Will DempsterHead of Production
  • The One Show

Gerry's Partisan Pizza

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