As we head into the pivotal 2026 mid-term elections, Blue Wave Voiceover is stepping into a new era of leadership and renewed purpose. Danielle Famble and Erikka J, both professional voice over actors and longtime members, are now guiding the collective! Now, Blue Wave is doubling down on its mission: to use professional voice talent as an act of resistance dedicated to helping progressive messaging break through.
Fresh from this year’s Creative Summit hosted by our friends at Campaigns & Elections, their leadership is informed by the communication trends in AI and the need to personally connect with clients and collaborators across progressive political advertising. Here are some of their takeaways…
AI and the Need for Authenticity in Political Voiceover Advertising
Erikka: Agencies are increasingly finding value in having the candidate speak directly to camera rather than only using voiceover. While VO can still be used to intro and/or end tag the ad, authenticity and direct connection of the candidate to the constituents is more important and impactful than ever. AI is absolutely in the conversation, but they haven’t yet found a way to make it actually be quicker. It’s faster to tell a human to make a change than it is to redirect a machine to execute a different tone, etc. Human voiceover becomes especially important when using nuanced tactics in political advertising like humor.
Danielle: Most political ad agencies/creatives do not see the value in replacing human voices with AI, it just doesn’t work with their process (right now) – there was one agency that found a way to create an agreement with a voice actor to license the use of their synthetic voice. But overall many did not want to go down that road for timing, cost and compliance reasons.
Attending C&E Creative Summit As a Way to Connect with Creative Partners
Danielle’s main reason for attending was “to be in the room with the people who could hire Blue Wave Voice Actors. The Creative Summit is a smaller, more intimate conference than the Reed Awards. We thought that attending a smaller conference would give us the opportunity to have more quality discussions with potential leads.”
Erikka attended the summit because “we wanted to connect with our creative partners, new and preexisting, that are as passionate as we are about creating impactful political advertising collateral. And hear insights about what has worked well, what hasn’t, and their thoughts on communicating with constituents in the future.”
Building Upon the Foundation and Recommitting to Impactful Messaging
As they look ahead, Danielle and Erikka are focused on making Blue Wave more than just a roster of progressive voice talent – but a proactive resource for political consultants who need authenticity, resistance, and credibility.
Blue Wave Voiceover is focused on:
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- Being a resource for political advertisers to find authentic voices that look and sound like America today
- Serving as an authoritative voice in the political consulting space
- Proactively participating in conversations about the state of our democracy
- Working with national and local candidates, progressive and democratic political organizations, PACs, casting agencies and directors.
Get Ready for 2026: Make Sure Your Message Is Heard
No need to scroll through a sea of auditions on other online platforms if you’re looking to hire voice over talent. Our curated roster serves as the central hub for professional voice talent specializing in political voiceover.
While Blue Wave Voiceover has been a successful collective for over 5 years bringing in more than an impressive $1 million to our collective businesses in that timeframe, the political advertising community is constantly changing.
Blue Wave Voiceover Offers:
✔️ Diverse and inclusive voice talent that targets your demographic
✔️ Professional voice talent with broadcast quality home studios delivering high quality audio
✔️ Fast turnaround
✔️ Voice Talent that truly care about the state of democracy in our country and are passionate about doing our part to amplify progressive candidates and their causes.
The next election cycle will be a pivotal one, and your message needs to cut through with credibility and conviction. As you plan your progressive cause marketing strategy for 2026, partner with the voiceover collective built for this moment. Blue Wave Voiceover offers diverse, inclusive, professional voice over talent who understand not just how to read a script but how to move voters.
If you’re ready to take action and ensure your message rises above the noise, Blue Wave Voiceover is the right resource to help amplify it.
What were your top takeaways from the Creative Summit 2025?
Most political ad agencies/creatives do not see the value in replacing human voices with AI, it just doesn’t work with their process (right now) – there was one agency that found a way to create an agreement with a voice actor to license the use of their synthetic voice. But overall many did not want to go down that road for timing, cost and compliance reasons.- People seemed to know “about” Blue Wave, but we still have a way to go with implementation.
- Humor in political advertising gained its footing in the last cycle. Creatives want to push the envelope, but candidates want to be more conservative and do what they think/know works.
- Agencies are increasingly finding value in having the candidate speak directly to camera rather than only using voiceover. While VO is still a valuable element, such as to intro, end tag, or connect main ideas within the ad, authenticity and direct connection of the candidate to the constituents is more important and impactful than ever.
- AI is absolutely in the conversation, but they haven’t yet found a way to make it actually be quicker. It’s faster to tell a human to make a change than it is to redirect a machine to execute a different tone, etc.
Most political ad agencies/creatives do not see the value in replacing human voices with AI, it just doesn’t work with their process (right now) – there was one agency that found a way to create an agreement with a voice actor to license the use of their synthetic voice. But overall many did not want to go down that road for timing, cost and compliance reasons.Why did you attend the C&E Creative Summit 2025? Was it to reconnect with leads, meet creatives working on political ads, or both?
- Danielle – My main reason for attending was to be in the room with the people who could hire Blue Wave Voice Actors. The Creative Summit is a smaller, more intimate conference than the Reed Awards. We thought that attending a smaller conference would give us the opportunity to have more quality discussions with potential leads. Also, there was a particular focus on AI use in political advertising. Which is something I’m curious about being a competition to Blue Wave and voice actors more broadly.
- Erikka – We wanted to connect with our creative partners, new and preexisting, that are as passionate as we are about creating impactful political advertising collateral, and hear insights from those that are informed and currently working in this space about what has worked well, what hasn’t, and their thoughts on communicating with constituents in the future.
Under your leadership, Blue Wave Voiceover has entered a new chapter. What core values are shaping its direction today?
- Danielle – My values are to continue in the direction Maria Pendolino started us on. I’ve often said, “it’s not broken, so there’s nothing to fix” and I still believe that. I also think there are ways that we can be more proactive as voice actors instead of waiting to be picked for jobs. Honestly, I’m still not totally sure on how we go about doing that, it is a value of mine.
- Erikka – I wouldn’t say there’s a new direction or new values, but rather a refresh that continues to build upon our foundation. We are still focused on being a resource for political advertisers to find voices that look and sound like America today, but want to also serve more as a voice in the political consulting space. We want to do more than just wait for jobs to come to us. We want to proactively participate in conversations around the state of our democracy.
In today’s political climate, how is Blue Wave Voiceover moving forward? How is it supporting clients who use voice actors’ talents as a tool for resistance?
- Danielle – I think the first step is to let people know who we are and what we stand for. While Blue Wave has been a successful collective for over 5 years (bringing in an impressive $1M+ to our collective businesses) the political advertising community is constantly changing. It’s a fast paced industry and people change companies or start new agencies. A consistent and persistent message vital to keeping our name ID top of mind to our buyers. Also, because many local candidates may not have the infrastructure to hire out their messaging, going directly to PACs, candidates and political organizations is another opportunity to get the word out about Blue Wave Voiceover.
- Erikka – we want to clearly communicate the problem that we solve for political consultants creating ads: that we serve as the central hub for professional voice talent that specialize in political voiceover. There’s no need to sift through online platforms looking for talent to voice their ads in ways that effectively connect with targeted constituents, that have professional level, high quality audio, and that are turned around quickly. Our curated roster of vetted talent addresses all of those pain points. Additionally, we all truly care about the state of democracy in our country and are passionate about doing our part to amplify the messaging of progressive candidates and causes.
