Biden-Harris campaign seeks to win over Animal Crossing island voters
LOS ANGELES - For Animal Crossing players, the game has offered an escape from the harsh realities of a global pandemic and political strife. Many found refuge in a private island with friendly neighbors and a raccoon for a landlord.
But now, the Biden-Harris campaign is looking to provide a piece of reality on the make-believe islands — in the form of virtual campaign signs for players’ virtual yards.
The campaign launched the virtual yard signs on Sept. 1, when the leaves start changing color to mark the first day of autumn in the game.
"Since today marks the start of fall in the game and the leaves start to change color, we are introducing a staple for the season: Team Joe yard signs," Christian Tom, director of digital partnerships for the Biden campaign, told FOX News. "As we enter the final campaign stretch toward November, this is one way we are finding new creative and innovative ways to meet voters where they are and bring our supporters together."
There are four designs that players can download to place on signs around their virtual island, including the official Biden-Harris logo, the “Team Joe” logo, a Pride-colored “Joe” logo and an image of the Democratic candidate’s classic aviator sunglasses in red, white, and blue.
Players can access the designs in the game by scanning the respective QR codes through the Nintendo Switch Online app.
“Animal Crossing is a dynamic, diverse, and powerful platform that brings communities together from across the world. It is an exciting new opportunity for our campaign to engage and connect Biden-Harris supporters as they build and decorate their islands," said Tom.
According to Nintendo’s latest earnings report, the game has sold over 22.4 million copies worldwide. It was released on March 20, and gained immense popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"This is just the start of how we plan to engage players ahead of November as we’re already looking forward to rolling out more digital swag, voter education tools, and organizing efforts on Animal Crossing and other platforms,” he added.