The battle in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election is largely a competition to win young voters, say observers. Therefore, when it comes to campaigning, candidates are challenged to come up with breakthroughs that suit their interests.

One Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair, Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno, for example, was quick to grab a “golden” opportunity to lure voters with the “Om telolet om” phenomenon that has gone worldwide on social media in recent days.

The ticket’s campaign team has made and uploaded an “Om telolet om” video starring Anies and Sandiaga. In the 22-second video posted by Anies on his YouTube and Instagram accounts on Wednesday, Sandiaga, who wears white shirt, was seen holding piece of white paper that reads “Om telolet om”.

On Tuesday, social media users around the world began to question the meaning of “Om telolet om”, especially after famous DJs, including DJ Snakes and Zedd, twitted the phrase on their accounts.

Telolet is the onomatopoeiadic word describing the sound of the customized horns found in many Indonesian buses, while om refers to an uncle or an adult man, so the phrase “Om telolet om” essentially means, “Sir, honk your horn, sir!”

Many Indonesian children stand on roadsides and shout “Om telolet om!” They then cheer in glee after hearing horns honking.

In the video, Sandiaga asks the driver of a passing black car to honk his horn.

Sitting in the front seat, Anies opens the window and says, “Do you think I am your uncle?”

The video has successfully grabbed enormous attention from social media users. More than 2,500 people have viewed Anies-Sandiaga’s video as of Thursday and hundreds of them liked it.

“It’s cool! I hope you are Jakarta’s next leaders,” a YouTube user called RidhoKid commented.

(Read also: Java's coastal kids grab worldwide attention with 'Om Telolet Om')

A few days earlier, it was the Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) and Sylviana Murni pair who rocked social media with an upload of a hiphop-themed video featuring the two of them.

Entitled #VoiceOfSaturday, the clip was posted on Agus and Sylvi’s Facebook fanpage last Saturday. It has been viewed by more than 300,000 people as of Thursday and has garnered roughly 1,000 likes.

“Please make other cool videos and photos of AHY and Sylvi,” Farah Salim Balfagih commented.

The video begins with Agus and Silvy wearing black jackets and sunglasses outdoors cheerfully dancing to hip-hop music.

Agus’ celebrity wife, Annisa Pohan, is also seen dancing along with dozens of others in black shirts.

Agus and Sylvi’s campaign team spokesman, Rico Rustombi, said the video was aimed at attracting as many young voters as possible.

“The video reflects that Agus has a young spirit and it shows that he is also a part of the Jakarta youngsters,” Rico said. “Hip-hop music is popular among youngsters.”

The 38-year-old Agus is the youngest among the three governor candidates. Incumbent Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is 50 years old, while Anies is 47.

Data from the Jakarta General Elections Commission for the 2017 election show that nearly 30 percent of the 7.1 million voters are between 17 and 30 years old. (vny)