The real obstacle to getting voters to approve tax funding for mass transit was that most voters don’t use mass transit in Lexington. “Why should I vote for a service I don’t use” was the mentality LexTran and AD-SUCCESS had to overcome. The campaign to sway public opinion began more than a year before the crucial vote, with “There’s a Lot Riding on LexTran” – a series of TV, radio and print ads that featured real people who depend on LexTran: a hospital worker, a hotel employee, a dialysis patient, and a senior couple. The TV spots – beautifully shot on 16mm film – were especially effective, prompting one columnist with Lexington’s daily newspaper, the Herald Leader, to comment:

“The new LexTran TV spots make me feel like a vote against the referendum is a vote against my grandparents.”

The TV spots in this series were :15’s produced on a tiny budget; every available cent was dedicated to the media schedule. And the voters got the message. Final count 52%-48% in favor of funding for mass transit. There are some campaigns that give us a little extra inspiration. This is one of them.

Yeah.

Exactly.

(click here to see “There’s A Lot Riding on LexTran” TV Spots)

As the vote drew closer, a second theme was rolled out: “We All Depend on Mass Transit.” Note the careful wording: “mass transit” was the term that appeared on the ballot, so that was the term in the ads; LexTran was not mentioned. Nor was there an overt call to action, nothing to insult the voters’ intelligence, just a simple story well-told: even if you don’t ride the bus, you depend on people who do -- the tech who shot your x-ray, the waiter who served your table, the clerk who sold you your groceries, etc. Then there are the elderly and disabled; for many of them, no mass transit means no transportation at all.

(click here to see “We All Depend on Mass Transit” TV Spots)

Nuts & Bolts of the campaign:

Newspaper editorial and news articles, newspaper insert, newspaper ads, television spots, flyers, bus signs, Hispanic radio, targeted cable, broadcast TV, local broadcast news.

TV spots produced from still photos & graphics, :15’s for maximum placement flexibility

Awards:

First Place -- Public Relations Society of America (Campaign)
Silver Addy – Public Service Television Production
Silver Addy – Local Political Campaign