MTV launches 2020 '+1thevote' campaign to mobilize Millennials and Gen Z

Various logos of the different cable channels from the MTV Networks are pictured at the Cable Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California.

In 1990, a bikini-clad Madonna wrapped in a U.S. flag urged MTV viewers to vote in Senate elections as the youth television network partnered with a “Rock the Vote” campaign that mixed pop culture and politics.

Thirty years on, with Millennials and Gen Z poised to outnumber the Baby Boomer generation for the first time in a U.S. presidential election, MTV on Tuesday launched its most ambitious turnout campaign ever, reaching beyond celebrities to tap into burgeoning youth activism.