The 2024 presidential election has been by far one of the most interesting elections in most of our lifetimes, with the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, dropping out after the first presidential debate, the closest to the election than any other incumbent
president in history. Replacing Biden is his current vice president, Kamala Harris, who has had to reinvent the way campaigns are run in an attempt to get her name out in the little time before voters go to the polls. The race is now neck and neck, with several key states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada the primary focus for both candidates.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the 2024 presidential campaigns has been the advertising revolution heavily employed by Kamala Harris and her team. While both sides are throwing money at all the traditional advertising options like ads on television, YouTube, and billboards, Harris decided to take a novel approach through social media. Now, political advertising on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are by no means unpreceded, but the way in which Kamala Harris used the trend-centered, addictive platforms to her advantage is fascinating to watch in real time. Since she replaced Joe Biden in the running, Kamala Harris has already been the focus of several internet trends that have served to get her name out into the minds of America’s youngest voters. One notable example of these trends is “Project Coconut,” in which TikTok and Instagram users edit and dance to a sound bite of Kamala Harris referencing coconut trees during her speech with the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” plan. Additionally, Harris has worked hand-in-hand with large influencers on social media platforms, most notably Charli XCX. After Charli posted on X, formerly Twitter, that “Kamala IS brat” (playing off of one of her newest songs about being unapologetic and bold), Harris capitalized off the shoutout by using the song in her post and referencing the song in the words she uses.
However, Kamala Harris is not the only player employing social media trends this election season: Donald Trump has also started dipping his toes in the water. While none of his posts or soundbites have emerged as a trend in his favor (though the song “They’re Eating the Dogs” has become a very popular remixed soundbite of Trump in Harris’s favor), Trump has hopped on the bandwagon of several major social media trends in an attempt to gain favor with younger voters. To an idyllic image on TikTok of dolphins jumping out of a picturesque ocean, with “Symphony” by Clean Bandit playing in the background, Donald Trump superimposed the text: “Vote for Trump unless you want to be drafted to fight World War III.” This post plays upon the existing trend of setting unexpected text to the otherwise lighthearted, cheery image and music, racking up 7.6 million views with 1.2 million likes.
Undoubtedly, this election has had several firsts, with the widespread use of social media trends being perhaps the most influential in deciding who will take the victory. So far, the Democrats seem to have a stronger social media team due to the sheer number of user participation in the trends helped along by the Democratic party, whereas the Republicans are sticking to bandwagoning for now. However, the trend toward social media marketing demonstrates a shift to appealing to the younger demographic, vying to get the 18-25 age demographic to vote for one side or the other. If these trends continue, Americans can expect their social media sites to become much more political nearing election season, since even now the election is leaking into mainstream social media in the form of these dances and soundbite remixes.
