Are you keeping up with Kamala Harris’s rise as the US Democratic Party’s candidate? Are you understanding some of the words around the campaign?
I love politics and the US election has more drama than Netflix can ever provide—bigger heroes and villains. But what makes it so insanely addictive for me is watching the political marketing tactics and strategies as they unfold. It is done at breakneck speed with strategies thrown out and new ones implemented as some things fail and others succeed.
And, of course, at the centre of this is the MESSAGING. How words are used to convey positive messages is so important. Political marketing is absolutely reliant on getting the messaging right and targeting the right demographics.
Hilary Clinton probably lost her campaign for the presidency by choosing the wrong word to describe Trump supporters—by calling them “the deplorables” she showed a lack of empathy and disdain for blue collar Americans.
Kamala Harris memes
What is happening with Kamala Harris’s campaign that is really new and unique is what some media outlets are calling “meme-ification”. You may have heard references to the coconut tree and wondered what was going on. The coconut tree and other threads are memes.
Coconut tree meme
Kamala Harris has been portrayed politically as a bit scatty, prone to too much laughing and a bit unclear in her public speaking. She gave a speech at the White House in 2023 in which she quoted her mother speaking about younger generations.
“She would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? … You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
It was too esoteric for her audience at the time. But now the “coconut tree” has become a pro-Harris “meme” as Z-gen are starting to rally to her.
Brat summer
Younger celebrities are joining in by tying Harris to their social media brands. There is a call to join the “brat summer” another pro-Kamala meme.
UK pop musician Charli XCX posted on X that “kamala IS brat,” a reference to her newly released album “brat”. The post got over 35 million impressions and Harris’ campaign immediately set its X banner photo to the green colour of Charli’s “brat” album cover.
Venn diagrams
And Venn diagrams!?
“I love Venn diagrams,” Harris said during an event in 2022. “There’s just something about those three circles and the analysis of where there’s the intersection right?”
It didn’t go down well with the high-school dropouts. But now a Venn diagram has been used on social media to show that Biden and Harris have the same intersecting aim—to beat Trump.
The k-hive
Kamala Harris has a strong following of zealous fans known as the K-Hive. The New York Times attributes the term to MSNBC correspondent Joy-Ann Reid in 2017. The nickname is a play on BeyHive, Beyonce’s rusted on fans. Both Harris and Biden have referred to the K-Hive.
Its going to be an exciting 100 days to the US election and I will be lapping it up with glee.