Case Study
Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic
How Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic’s GOTV “Virus” Energized Voters Across North Carolina
Introduction
What happens when you mix retro computer visuals with one of the most urgent fights of our time? You get “Virus” a fun, scroll-stopping digital ad that turned heads and got voters moving.
In 2024, SBDigital partnered with Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic to remind North Carolinians that reproductive rights were urgently on the ballot. The result was a unique GOTV campaign ad that combined vintage computer pop-ups, sound effects, and just the right amount of digital panic to grab attention and drive action.
The ad didn’t just look cool, it worked. “Virus” delivered millions of impressions, kept more than ninety percent of viewers watching until the very end, and sent tens of thousands of voters to find their polling place.
Challenge
Heading into the 2024 election, many voters in North Carolina still didn’t realize that reproductive rights were directly on the ballot. Reproductive rights, specifically abortion access, were a key issue in the 2024 North Carolina election, influencing voter turnout and several key races. The outcome, including the election of a Democratic governor and the state legislature, was viewed as a significant factor in determining the future of reproductive freedom in the state.
Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic needed a campaign that could break through the noise and motivate voters to show up in November. Time was short, and the challenge was clear: grab attention fast and make it simple for people to understand the urgency of the election in protecting their reproductive rights.
Creative & Audience Targeting
To meet that challenge, we created “Virus,” a 30-second ad designed to feel like an alarm you couldn’t ignore. Bespoke assets were built from scratch, then brought to life with animations that felt both nostalgic and slightly unsettling. Instead of relying on a traditional voiceover, the ad leaned on carefully layered sound design, dings, alerts, and distortions to hold viewers’ attention until the final frame.
The ad ran across Connected TV, mobile and desktop devices, and Meta platforms (Facebook and Instagram), meeting audiences wherever they were scrolling and streaming. Its non-traditional pacing and eerie tone helped it stand out in an endless sea of political messaging in North Carolina.
Our team focused the campaign on a matched mobilization audience across key North Carolina counties, including Wake, Mecklenburg, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Granville and New Hanover.
"Virus"
Results
The results speak for themselves this campaign delivered more than 2.26 million impressions with a 91.73% full-view rate. The ad went on to become a 2025 Reed Award finalist and was part of a broader program that also received Reed Award recognition. Over the course of the program, millions of impressions were served, and tens of thousands of voters clicked through to find their polling places, proof that a bold and creative approach can translate directly into real-world action at the ballot box.
