After clicking through the Flash website, I found that the website basically provides a link to two components: (1) A contest entry form, and (2) An on-line "diary". It's basically a piece of fiction, and is required to complete the "skill-testing questions" on the entry form.

The contest prizes are actually fairly impressive. The Grand Prizes are 3 "Canadian Adventures" worth up to $5000 per trip. There is a large variety of adventures, including a tour of an ostrich farm in Ontario (yes, and I really wish that I were making this up). There are also thirty backpacks to be won, worth approximately $200 each (reminding me that I'm in the wrong profession).

The on-line "diary" is an interesting piece of work. It's a diary of a cross-Canada trip (complete with cheesy music and everything), and it attempts to give subtle hints to the reader of the importance of voting. Here's one quotation, after a diary entry about tattoos:

...tattoos are a way of expressing yourself, like making music, debating with your friends, or choosing one brand over another.

Okay, that's innocuous enough. The subtext in this message is that "expressing oneself" can take different forms (such as filling out a ballot. Get it? Get it?). However, after reading more of the diary, I feel as if an anvil fell on my head:

...She thought that MPs have no power... Now that she’s got to know them better, she has a better understanding of what they really do. Her MP listened to her... Sometimes we think that just one person can't make a difference. But we're not so insignificant after all!

And yes, the diary does include the trite saying, "if you don't vote, you can't complain". Sigh.

Despite these criticisms, I believe that this marketing campaign is a good idea, and is better than the Chief Electoral Officer sitting on his hands. I think that this campaign deserves an "E" for Effort.