ELECT WHAT? "ELECT THIS."

MTV BUILDS ON NEARLY 25-YEAR ELECTION LEGACY WITH NEW ISSUE-DRIVEN CAMPAIGN "ELECT THIS"

New MTV Study Finds 3 in 4 Millennials are Embarrassed by the 2016 Presidential Election, but Remain Deeply Committed to Focusing on the Issues that Matter

New York, NY - June 1, 2016 - Building on its nearly 25-year legacy of amplifying young voters, MTV today unveiled "Elect This" (www.electthis.com), a campaign to help its audience connect with the issues that matter to them in an election season dominated by personalities over policy, and scandal over substance.

A new, national MTV study* found that while an overwhelming 9 in 10 (92 percent) of Millennials ages 18-34 agree "this election is like a bad reality show" and nearly 3 in 4 (74 percent) are embarrassed by the current cycle, an even greater 93 percent see through the chaos and agree "this election should be about issues." Through original content that satirizes the punditry and illuminates the truth behind the talking points, "Elect This" will drive young voters to become more informed, raise their voices and take action on the topics that matter to them ranging from jobs and student debt, to racial injustice, healthcare, national security and more through digital and social opportunities and organizations, including exclusive partnerships with Change.org and Tumblr.

"The vast majority of Millennials are already frustrated and fatigued by this election cycle, yet remain energized and capable as ever about having an impact on the issues that matter to them," said Sean Atkins, President of MTV. "'Elect This' is about empowering them, amplifying their essential voice in the process, and supporting their ability to see past the tired political rhetoric that is so rampant in their daily social feeds to instead design real change."

The campaign is supported by a coalition of partner organizations focused on the issues most important to Millennials: American Civil Liberties Union, Anti-Defamation League, Define American, Enroll America, Everytown for Gun Safety, FWD.us, GLAAD, NAACP, National Partnership for Women and Families, NextGen Climate, Oxfam America, Planned Parenthood, RAINN, Rock the Vote, Truman National Security Project and Young Invincibles.

At launch, "Elect This" original content platforms include:

"Infographica" - An ongoing, short-form animated series that illustrates hyper-topical MTV polling data on critical issues. "Infographica" will be released multiple times a week across MTV's on-air, online and digital platforms. To view the first Infographica click HERE.

"Robo-Roundtable" - A short-form linear and digital series that pokes fun at puppet politics with four social media-powered, life-sized animatronic robots that give real youth voices a national stage. The Robo-Roundtable will engage in daily, ongoing on-air and online debates, short-form social media, Facebook Live and Snapchat content and deliver breaking news throughout the election season. Additionally, beginning today, audiences will have the opportunity to actually voice the Robo-Roundtable discussions by tweeting their thoughts using the hashtag #roboroundtable. "Elect This" will select tweets throughout the election cycle from online debates between young people and politicians and project those opinions through the four animatrons.

MTV ORIGINAL RESEARCH

MTV Insights has launched a weekly-research effort for "Elect This" that will consistently report on Millennials' shifting sentiment throughout the election cycle on voting, the 2016 race and candidates as well as pivotal issues that matter to them including social justice, immigration and refugees, healthcare, the economy, national security and climate change. Some key first findings from the comprehensive, nationally-representative study include:

· It's the Issues, Not the Candidates: 88 percent of young people ages 18-34 agree "I'm voting for the candidate who talks about the issues that matter to me." Nearly 3 in 4 (73 percent) state "I don't care about the candidates, I care about the issues."

· Election Exhaustion vs. Election Enthusiasm: While nearly 7 in 10 Millennials (69 percent) say "this election is exhausting - I wish it were over" and 60 percent admit to already experiencing election fatigue, a bigger majority (81 percent) "feel like my generation can really make an impact on this election."

· Charged to Make Change: Nearly 8 in 10 (79 percent) of young people feel "responsible for helping [their] community." 85 percent agreeing "people in my community are more inspiring than politicians." 73 percent believe "America is already great and can be even better."

MTV longitudinal data shows that Millennials are more engaged in 2016 versus the last Presidential election with 87 percent of 18-29 year olds agreeing "this election is really important to my generation" vs. 75 percent of 18-29 year olds in 2012. In addition, MTV found young people to be making this election more of a priority with only 37 percent saying "I'm too busy with other things to pay attention to the election" versus a significantly higher 55 percent in 2012, and only 35 percent of respondents citing "I don't know enough about the candidates to have an opinion" versus 59 percent in 2012.

MTV NEWS POLITICAL COVERAGE

As the daily driving force behind "Elect This," MTV News' political powerhouse team of Ana Marie Cox, Jamil Smith, Jane Coaston, Marcus Ellsworth, Kaleb Horton, Jaime Fuller, Ezekiel Kweku and more will continue to actively cover the 2016 Presidential Election through the lens of MTV's Millennial audience. This includes the multi-weekly digital political series, "The Racket," featuring Jamil Smith, Marcus Ellsworth and Jane Coaston; and MTV News' weekly political podcast, "The Stakes," featuring the entire Politics team as they attempt to make sense of the most insane election season of our young century. MTV News will provide ongoing coverage from the campaign trail, at the conventions and more.

DIGITAL RESOURCES

"Elect This" Hub - The campaign's online hub, http://www.electthis.com, will house information on the issues, helpful resources, action steps and tools for audiences that want to get involved and informed on the issues. Additionally, several interactive tools will be available at launch including "Elect This Generation," a tool for users to join celebrities including Common, Melissa McCarthy, Carmelo Anthony and more in generating memes visually representing the issues they care about (click HERE); and "Spend This," a digital tool that translates the cost of the 2016 election into things that really matter, from burritos and Beyonce tickets to birth control and salaries for teachers. "Elect This" will also have a presence in social media via Twitter (@electthis) and Tumblr (http://.electthis.tumblr.com).

Change.org - MTV is partnering with Change.org, the world's largest technology platform for social change, to create pathways to action on the issues that matter most to young people. The "Elect This" Movements page will provide young people with the platform they need to launch petitions and enact change for the issues that impact them the most. "Elect This" online petitions have already been launched by a teenage woman from Syria calling for U.S. elected officials to support Syrian refugees like her, an American Army Officer who is Sikh asking to serve with his turban and beard, and a young woman advocating for increased financial aid to Illinois college students like her. Timed to the launch of LGBT Pride Month today, "Elect This" will begin spotlighting LGBT petition starters and their work to bring about full equality. To begin your own petition click HERE.

Tumblr Partnership - MTV and Tumblr will roll out a series of initiatives during key moments throughout the election cycle to encourage its' audience to take action, including IssueTime, a monthly platform for young voters to hear directly from activists, celebrities and young people impacted by the issues that matter this election cycle.

The "Elect This" Anthem was created in collaboration with editorial/postproduction Company, Lost Planet. The 60-second video montage introduces the message of "Elect This" through a barrage of powerful imagery and footage of pivotal and controversial moments in time that touch on race, climate change, immigration, social justice, the economy, politics and healthcare. To view the spot click HERE.

* MTV's original research is conducted through a series of nationally representative quantitative surveys of 500 Millennials ages 18-34, as well as a nationally representative sample of 200 Gen X members (ages 35-50) and 200 Boomers (ages 51-70).

About MTV:

MTV is a global youth culture brand driven by the creative spirit of music.