Since it was announced that she was running for President, she has succeeded in raising more than 200$ million in campaign donations in a matter of weeks. It was no small task and her peculiar marketing strategy focusing on Gen-Z voters has proved to be one of the most effective tactics we have seen from the Democrats since Obama.
On July 22nd, pop singer Charli XCX tweeted ‘kamala IS brat’, a post that got 55 million views and started the rebranding of Harris’ campaign. Since then, her marketing team has been playing with the iconic green background and blurry Arial font to promote her image. A true cultural branding followed. ‘Brat’ is the title of Charli XCX’s album but has become an aesthetic and a mindset of ‘girlbossing’ more than anything.
In a stroke of genius, Harris became a symbol for young people, becoming ‘one of us’ as she shares our trends, references and interests. Rather than being a higher, out of touch person of power, she shows up on every kids’ FYP with edits that humanise her to the music of icons like Beyoncé, P!nk and Stevie Wonder.
In a stroke of genius, Harris became a symbol for young people, becoming ‘one of us’ as she shares our trends, references and interests.
While it is incredibly entertaining to follow on social media, as someone who has been dissatisfied with Democrat policies in the past year or so, it is not exactly making me feel better about voting for them.
Uniting people through funny gimmicks and memes works on the surface but many Gen-zers are asking for a clear policy outline. While genius for gaining voters and attracting attention, the strategy is still worthy of criticism. It lacks structural explanations and stances on key topics of American politics that actually rather matter to young voters.
As someone who will vote in General Elections for the first time, I would appreciate knowing at least a bit more about who I am going to vote for, more than her inclination towards a ‘brat’ summer and her love for Beyoncé.
