Watching Boomer CNN anchors try to explain Kamala’s brat branding has finally broken me. But what’s happening in US politics and on TikTok is a necessary lesson in modern marketing—so I’m here with a terminally online deep dive into Gen Z meme marketing.
Sarah, are you going to explain a meme? I hate that.
I’ll limit the cringe—but we do need to understand how powerful this marketing tactic is. Now, get in for the joyride.*
There are two albums you'll need for this lesson:
2. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Chappell Roan
Now that you’ve smudged your eyeliner and covered yourself in sparkles, let’s begin.
How Kamala Harris is using meme marketing to win Gen Z (and save democracy)
Summer 2024: Charli XCX names her new album Brat after the iconic line in 365: "Who the fuck are you? I'm a brat when I'm bumping that".
The branding is iconic, chartreuse, and immediately fun. It’s bolstered by a hella-viral dance to the brat song, Apple—TikTok users have created 434k videos with this song (so far).
Gen Z TikTok has labelled this: brat Girl Summer. Much like Hot Girl Summer, this trend has an aesthetic. Think clubbing, Bic lighters, white tank tops, cigarettes, staying up all night, and 90s grunge makeup. TikTok users are using the brat green and font for their own profiles.
It's everywhere.
At the same time, we’re seeing the rise of queer icon Chappell Roan—the kind of pop star we all need but only some of us deserve. One of Roan's biggest songs is Feminominon, which will be important later.
The girls, gays and theys of TikTok are making memes with both albums.
The Gen Z Pivot
Sunday: Biden drops out. Biden was not popular with Gen Z Tiktok because of both his age and, uh, decisions, so Harris’s team knows they need to win over this demographic.
They immediately pivoted to embrace Gen Z meme culture, changing their HQ’s header image on TikTok to the brat green. This could have flopped in a cringe way—but someone on the team knew what would make it work: a tweet from Mother:
With Charli XCX’s endorsement, this rebrand quickly goes from potentially cringe to immediately cool.
Gone are stuffy speeches and formal endorsements. This is what an authentic, socially savvy candidate endorsement looks like in 2024.
In under 24 hours, Gen Z makes Kamala a huge meme on TikTok. Specifically, they love this coconut speech, and using the Chappell Roan song Feminominon. A lot.
Ok Sarah, this is fun and all, but this kind of marketing can’t matter that much, right?
In the first 24 hours, Harris’s campaign raised $81 million, Future Forward, a Democratic super PAC, raised $150 million in new donations, and Act Blue took in $93 million—almost entirely in small donations. More than 40,000 people donated for the first time yesterday.
It’s the largest single day of fundraising for any candidate in history.
And they signed up 28,000 volunteers—100x their previous pace.
In one day.
So what can we learn?
- Don’t do most things 🚫
Nothing ruins a good time like a brand trying to profit off of it. Most trends won’t match your brand vibe, customer demographics, and abilities as a team. Having diversity of generation and background on your team will help flag what makes sense, and what is inappropriate or cringe to take part in.
- Stay nimble 🌩️
Trends are like thunderstorms, they come on fast and don’t stay for long. If you’re going to leverage this kind of marketing, you need to have your finger on the pulse of TikTok, make quick decisions, and be ready to create content on a dime.
Does that mean my 7 hrs of daily screentime is, uh, research?
- Whole ass it 🍑
When you choose to hop on a trend— go all in. Consult the youths to make sure you aren’t doing something icky. Once you have the greenlight, channel Duolingo and lean into the weirdness with everything you’ve got.
*If you haven’t listened to the glorious clowncar dance party that is Ke$sha’s new single Joyride, listen now. Thank me later.
