Can campaign memes help win the 2024 presidential election? Here's how they're working
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- If you've seen a lot of chartreuse green on your screen this summer, it's all a part of a social media strategy.
Not just by singer Charli XCX for the release of her new album "Brat," but by Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign team. In fact, they're both happy to share the spotlight.
Just hours after President Joe Biden withdrew from the campaign and endorsed Harris for the Democratic nod, Charli XCX posted on X "kamala IS brat."
That post alone has more than 54 million views.
The Harris campaign has since been embracing the backing of the singer and leaning into some of the other memes that have long circulated about the vice president. Her team also branded "Kamala HQ," described as "the official rapid response page of Vice President Harris' presidential campaign" in that same chartreuse green.
On Tuesday, Harris posted a video of her calling Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz asking him to be her running mate. The camouflage hat he was wearing quickly turned into campaign merchandise, looking shockingly similar to pop star Chappell Roan's uniform: a camo hat with the words "Midwest Princess."
The singer posted a photo on X of the two hats saying, "Is this real?"
Research shows youth voter registration is down 42% in California when you compare data from Election Day in 2020 to July 1. That's among voters 18 and 19 years, according to Tufts University.
"Every politician has to find their voters, find their constituents, wherever they are, and where they are these days is somewhere in the digital world," explained Karen North, a professor of digital social media at the University of Southern California.
Harris' team has been quick to hop on TikTok trends, using viral sounds. North said a strong digital strategy is crucial to the youth vote.
"The best way to convince people to vote is to reach out and find them in their fun worlds, which is their social media worlds, and memes are so shareable and so fun that it's probably the best way to reach the young voter," North said.
Former President Donald Trump's digital strategy appears to be more long-form. He recently participated in a lengthy livestream with popular gamer Adin Ross.
He also appeared on YouTuber Logan Paul's "IMPAULSIVE" podcast. The nearly hour-long interview has more than 6.4 million views.
"It's not about convincing people which candidate to support, it's about convincing people to vote," North said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
