New Delhi: After putting superstars on posters brandishing their inked fingers, the Karnataka election commission has now borrowed the logos of two popular brands – Burger King and BMW – to call people out to vote in the 10 May state polls.
In a recent tweet, the poll body used a Burger King logo with the caption — “Express your opinion like a King in this assembly election”.
Inside the company’s circular emblem, the commission replaced the iconic fast-food name “Burger King” with “Vote King”. In the same shade of red, as well as font.
The two burger buns in the circle were replaced with two hands, cupping the words that urged people to vote. The index fingers of both hands have the post-vote electoral stain. While Burger King’s tagline is “have it your way”, the “Vote King” tagline is “vote it your way”.
ಮತದಾರನ ನಿರ್ಧಾರವೇ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ರಚನೆಗೆ ಮುನ್ನುಡಿ. ಈ ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಹಾರಾಜನಂತೆ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸಿ.@ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI #karnatakassemblyelections2023 #vote #election #karnataka #Elections2023 #india #democracy #righttovote #ecisveep #ceokarnataka pic.twitter.com/yzcJgbpIkT
— Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (@ceo_karnataka) April 7, 2023
‘Sheer Voting Right’
In another poster issued Thursday, calling for a record voting turnout, the commission imitated the logo of luxury car brand, BMW.
Though the colours were changed – from blue to purple — the call-to-vote poster is a replica of BMW’s emblem. The poll body has, however, changed the company name to their message — “VOTE”. The tagline was changed from “Sheer driving pleasure” to “Sheer Voting Right”.
ಮೇ 10 ರಂದು ಎಲ್ಲರ ಪಯಣ ಮತಗಟ್ಟೆಯತ್ತವಿರಲಿ. ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಶೇಕಡಾವಾರು ಮತದಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ದಾಖಲೆ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿ.@ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI #karnatakassemblyelections2023 #vote #election #karnataka #Elections2023 #india #democracy #righttovote #ecisveep #ceokarnataka #voteforyourfuture #LetsVote pic.twitter.com/byawB7CdJK
— Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (@ceo_karnataka) April 6, 2023
The election commission has also taken the help of actors, directors, sportspersons and even social media influencers to ramp up awareness among voters.
Karnataka’s Joint Chief Electoral Officer Surya Sen, who is in charge of the social media campaign, has told ThePrint that the aim behind such populist posts is to engage with the people.
“The thought is very simple, everybody is personally attached to social media. We have to replicate what we like to see even in government establishments. Sometimes information about government schemes is very boring. We need to understand how to engage,” he said.
Speaking about the campaign’s team members, Sen said, “We have different groups with diverse people. Many of them are young people who have just graduated college. Young people know the vibe and are good at creating memes.” He added, “We are only putting perspective into their minds. So they will keep the vibe, they will keep the engagement and at the same time they will deliver what we want.”
Karnataka votes in a single phase on 10 May and the counting will be on the 13th.
Also read: Here’s why EC is ‘purposely’ holding Karnataka polls on a Wednesday