US Presidential candidate Joe Biden is campaigning
inside Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Well, not Joe personally.
But, his campaign is doing its best to make
use of the popular Nintendo Switch game by
encouraging supporters to plaster Biden-Harris
posters all over their own islands.
This is but the latest in along line of cases
where Animal Crossing has been used for political
purposes.
Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong used
the game to stage digital protests, and it
soon became far more difficult to import Hong
Kong copies of the game in neighbouring China,
where it is not officially on sale.
Similarly, the animal rights group Peta attempted
to get Blathers cancelled when they hosted
a sit-in at an in-game museum, arguing that
catching digital fish supports animal cruelty.
In both cases, the campaigns certainly worked
at drawing attention to these causes, whether
or not the targets of the protests actually
changed their behaviour.
Said Biden’s director of digital partnerships,
Christian Tom:
“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.”
Traditional political campaigning this year
has been difficult.
While Biden’s rival has shown little interest
in social distancing at events, the United
States’ Democratic party has been trying
to avoid physical events as much as possible.
The Democratic National Convention was conducted
virtually, and many of Joe Biden’s events,
fundraisers, and rallies have been conducted
over the internet instead of in-person.
Of course, Animal Crossing is not a mass multiplayer
game, so previous protests have only been
visible for limited audiences.
Joshua Wong and Peta have relied on social
media to carry their messages away from their
own Animal Crossing islands so that they reach
a wider viewership.
With the democratic party’s new Animal Crossing
campaign, things are a little different.
The focus is on shareable designs for Biden-Harris
posters, so that supporters can show their
support on many different islands.
The campaign has also involved working with
popular Animal Crossing streamers, convincing
them to display these signs on their own islands
as they play.
While the idea of a political party securing
endorsements from streamers might sound odd
now, it’s likely to become an increasingly
common practice in future – provided the
influencer marketing bubble doesn’t burst
just yet.
This new facet of the Biden campaign comes
off the back of US Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
arranging meet-and-greets with fans within
Animal Crossing -although her comments suggest
that she did this more for relaxation and
fun, rather than as part of an actual political
agenda.
Speaking of the game, she said:
“I set up my island like two days ago.
I’m really excited about it, but I also
feel like a slacker because I have like 10
bells in two days and I just upgraded my tent.
But that’s OK.
It’s been quite good actually, for my mental
health.”
With a game as popular as Animal Crossing,
it makes sense that so many political figures
have embraced the game as a means to connect
with allies and supporters.
Besides, campaigning in-game is an excellent
way to get traditional media coverage without
much effort.
The primary benefit for campaigns like that
of Peta, Hong Kong democracy, and Joe Biden
for president, is that the mere mention of
Animal Crossing generates a huge amount of
attention on news outlets of all varieties.
Thus, news outlets including The Guardian,
CNN, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, and even Fox News
have covered the Biden Campaign’s in-game
signs – although, as you might expect, some
of these outlets are more critical of the
move than others.
Regardless of the efficacy of rallying within
Animal Crossing, it seems that the Biden campaign
has plans to try even more unusual tricks
to make digital campaigns mainstream.
Said Christian Tom:
“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.”
So look forward to more democratic activism
in Animal Crossing in the near future, plus
a likely counter-movement from the right wing
which will no doubt be…interesting.
If you’re the kind of person who wants to
keep politics out of gaming, this clearly
isn’t your year!
