Pandemic

When the “wear a mask” message becomes really personal

Representation, Blog, Public Health, Pandemic

George Washington III is the resident deep, bass, resonant, African American voice here at Blue Wave Voiceover. His message to everyone right now?

Wear a mask.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the need for protection hit George really close to home. Unfortunately he lost both his mother and father to COVID-19 within weeks of each other and then he contracted the virus himself.

He recently shared his story and had a feature published in the Q City Metro by author Sabrina Clark. From their website:

“George Washington III is a voiceover actor with a James Earl Jones-esque resonance. His body of work runs the gamut, from radio spots for the Carolina Panthers to national TV commercials for Mountain Dew Ice (including one featuring rapper Cardi B) to exhibits at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

While Washington’s line of work is fascinating, the 52-year-old has a new motivation these days: urging people to wear masks to help safeguard against the Covid-19 disease. In North Carolina, the number of confirmed cases continues to reach record highs, disproportionately affecting people of color. Washington’s battle cry is a personal testimony of someone who lost his dad due to the virus and suffered from his own bout.”

Being a caregiver to his father after he contracted the virus, ultimately is what caused his exposure. He continues:

“We believe that in those processes, and the amount of time I was spending with him, I caught a full viral load,” the caretaker turned patient explained. In addition to hallmark symptoms like a spike in fever and body aches, Washington battled significant gastrointestinal issues.

“My problems began when I couldn’t stand the smell of food anymore…it’s very hard to force yourself to eat when you can’t even stand the scent of it,” he recalled.

From late May through mid-June, Washington says he only ate apples and oranges. By the time he returned to Charlotte late last month to self-quarantine, he’d lost 20 pounds. He described the ordeal as “pretty miserable.”

You can read the rest of the Q City Metro profile here: https://qcitymetro.com/2020/07/09/voice-actors-message-to-wear-a-mask-comes-after-losing-dad-and-his-own-covid-19-battle/

George only stopped working for a short period of time. Once he was well enough, he was back up and at it in the booth recording spots for Democrats and progressives running for office this election season.

But more than anything – in memory of his mother and father – George would like you to wear a mask. Not only to protect yourself but to protect those around you.

Here at Blue Wave Voiceover extend our deepest condolences to the Washington family on their loss.

Meet Gain Power

Advertising, Democratic Platform Issues, Pandemic

Amy Pritchard Launches Gain Power to Connect Left-Leaning Professionals

Do you want to enact political change in 2020? You can do more than vote on Election Day! Blue Wave Voiceover recently spoke with Amy Pritchard, the founder of GAIN POWER, a new online collaborative community for creative change-makers, campaigns, socially conscious businesses, influencers, activists, disrupters, creative artists & more. Blue Wave Voiceover is proud to be listed in the directory at Gain Power as a progressive voiceover collaborator available to work on political ads, mission-driven spots and Democratic content.

“We’ve built a platform to facilitate professional networking, marketing, jobs, storytelling, professional development, shared events, resources, and market space for the people working to gain power in US electoral and legislative politics,” Amy says.

You can use Gain Power to find professional opportunities in the political sphere. “There are so many different ways to be impactful,” says Amy. “It just depends on your skills and interests.” If you have skills in graphic design, photography, illustration, coding, writing, social media, data and more, you can be an asset to a political campaign. Your passion also helps!

Why Now

GAIN POWER is ready to take part in what will be a historic election – on the federal, state and local levels. Campaigns are spending more money than ever – and voters are dealing with unprecedented issues. “2020 is a perfect storm of unique and historic moments colliding,” says Amy, who first launched the organization Democratic GAIN in 2003. GAIN POWER is the group’s next generation and new iteration.

“We have a Presidential campaign happening at the same time as our census and preceding the next redistricting. We are operating during one of the largest global pandemics in our lifetime which has already crashed our economy and raised unemployment to levels this country hasn’t seen since the great depression,” she continues. “All the while being led by the most divisive President our country has ever had.”

Democrats and progressives can make real change in 2020 – but getting through to voters may be a challenge.

Important Political Issues in 2020

Amy predicts that a number of issues will be important to voters in the 2020 election. “I think if we get COVID-19 under control, then managing rebuilding our economy will dominate the debates and discussion with health care closely following that,” she says. “It will be interesting to see how voters feel about progressive issues like Medicare for all – raising the minimum wage, earned paid sick leave, a universal minimum income or any other issues change as a result of the fall out from this pandemic,” she continues. Amy also predicts that student debt and climate change will be influential issues in the election but notes that no group is a monolith. Differences and priorities among voters of various backgrounds shouldn’t be overlooked.

Reaching Voters with Effective Ads

To connect with voters in this ever-changing political landscape, campaign ads (and the people behind them) will need to be innovative and creative. “Good storytelling with a powerful message and messenger is the basic foundation,” Amy explains. But to really add a hook and take your ad to the next level, you should “add humor, heroism, tragedy or any other strong emotion.”

“There is so much content in every media competing for voter attention right now,” she says.

You can find more information about GAIN POWER at its website: https://www.gainpower.org/

When a Pandemic Is On the Ballot

Advertising, Pandemic

Political Commercials in the Time of COVID-19

As someone who has worked in the medical arena for years, lending my voice to medical narration videos, commercials, eLearning and more, I understand the importance of making healthcare information:

Readily available to those who need it
Presented in a format that is easily digestible

I have been a voiceover actor on projects ranging from instructional medical device videos for physicians, to hospital videos for patients, to pharmaceutical commercials for the general public, and all of those projects have had one common trait: clearly articulated information can be a huge comfort in complicated and frightening times.

The Benefits of Well-Crafted PSAs

With COVID-19 affecting every state in the nation, doctors, nurses, and citizens need to be kept informed of new regulations, what symptoms to look for, and which safety precautions to implement. The only way for vital information to reach our most vulnerable is through public service announcements, or PSAs. There is no question that poorer communities, communities made up of people of color, and undocumented immigrants are affected at a greater rate by the current crisis — even moreso because those demographics include lots essential workers on the front lines providing food and package delivery, bus drivers, grocery clerks, poll workers, journalists, and farmworkers, just to name a few. They might not have the same access to healthcare or basic information on crucial ways to protect their health, and are much likelier to be pressed into working through an illness, or going back to work before they’re fully healthy.

Urging Citizens to Take Action

Beyond public health commercials, we can expect the news cycle will be focusing on the Coronavirus for months to come. It has already changed the way we live and communicate with one another, which inevitably means political campaigns and causes will be talking about the virus as well. Political commercials across the country will be asking constituents to hold their representatives accountable for the handling of the coronavirus response and the lack of implemented safety policies. There will be advocacy groups and relief organizations asking for money to help those struggling and remote volunteers. Although the news cycle is typically in a state of flux, the pandemic, and our economy as a result of it, will be the framework for how PACs, candidates, campaigns, and causes will be crafting their messaging to reach voters in their districts.

The messaging behind these political commercials will have to be crystal clear. Take for instance, the political advertisement entitled Bungled. This particular political commercial focuses on the president’s slow decision to limit travel to and from China in the early days of the Coronavirus when several other countries were already doing so. The advertisement uses the president’s delay in issuing a China travel ban as one example of how he has made the country less safe, and it ends with a literal call to action, providing a phone number to tell the president to enact policies that will protect the American public.

Creatively, the ad is mostly black and white, which is suggestive of newspapers and the early years of TV, and the tone of the woman’s voiceover is very newslike. All of these creative choices send meta-messages to the viewer that this is critical information… that there’s no disputing it, as the evidence is “black and white.”

We should expect ads like this to pop up from both sides of the aisle. Messaging will need to be clear, on whom to hold accountable for the current crisis, and whose efforts should be praised. No doubt, the president will move his message from his daily press briefings to political advertisements, as we move closer to November and the 2020 election.

What’s Next for Political Commercials in the Pandemic?

Regardless of where anyone stands on the aisle, it is extremely crucial that we take measures to protect our public health. Political commercials must provide accurate and scientifically proven protective measures the public can easily implement. They must inform citizens of who they should hold accountable for mishandling the crisis in their own states and the federal government, as well as who to support for their efforts in helping the people of the United States. We will rely heavily on commercials in 2020 more than in any other election year.

Our health will be on the ballot.

Debbie Irwin is a co-founder and talent at Blue Wave Voiceover. Find her at her Blue Wave profile, or hear plenty more at DebbieIrwin.com.

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