Declare Yourself : LaChapelle's Amuses Bouche

If you were wondering what it takes to get Gen Z to vote, L.A. agency Benenson Janson has an answer: really disgusting lip torture, preferably featuring a Z-range celebrity like Christina Aguilera, Amber Tamblyn, Andre 3000, LaToya London or Jonathan Bennett. Well, not Andre 3000, he's just sucking on a bowtie. At any rate, Declare Yourself, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization spearheaded by TV sitcom savant Norman Lear, "was created to energize and empower the latest generation of young men and women and motivate them to participate in the 2004 presidential election," according to the agency. "Using conventional advertising to deliver the message in unconventional ways, Declare Yourself challenges all Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 to register now and vote in November." There's TV, radio and David La Chapelle-shot print, some of the latter looking like wincingly nasty publicity stills from a Clive Barker movie. "The ads are intentionally unexpected, disturbing and aggressive," says CCO Andrew Janson. "They talk to every kid's desire to be heard, respected and left alone to make their own decisions about what's important. The biggest challenge was to convey the importance of that decision without preaching or laying on guilt." And don't miss www.declareyourself.com, where they're selling "limited edition designer voting T-shirts" from American Apparel.