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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Pitt chapter.

Unless you just fell out of a coconut tree, you would know that the presidential election will be taking place this November 5, 2024. This election is incredibly unique because it’s the first time that the majority of Generation Z (Gen Z) will be able to cast their vote. With the country divided, it’s more important now than ever for politicians to find common ground with the younger generations in order to gain voter support at the polls. 

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her social media team have taken to the app TikTok to target the Gen Z demographic. By making videos with trending audios and edits, paired with recognizable images or video clips and a witty caption, they’ve been working to gain the younger audiences’ support. Just recently, a video of Kamala from May of 2023 went viral, with her saying the iconic phrase, “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.” This meme catapulted the rise of @KamalaHQ on TikTok, with the account feeding into the joke by making their bio “Providing context.” It ended up gaining more than double the amount of views in just 20 days compared to what @BidenHQ received in 5 months. The feedback and support on the TikTok account has been incredibly positive regarding this marketing campaign with commenters saying, “I’m so excited to vote” and “whoever runs this account needs a raise.”

Additionally, Brat summer took the nation by storm following the release of Charli XCX’s album Brat on June 7. The so-called “Brat” aesthetic means to not only accept one’s imperfections, but also to embrace the chaos. This aesthetic features a distinct lime-green background with a low-res font and has taken over both pop culture and politics. Kamala Harris took to embracing Brat summer by changing her X profile to a lime green background in the style of Charli’s album cover. This was followed by Charli herself backing Harris’ campaign with her tweeting, “kamala IS brat.” In addition, on @KamalaHQ’s Tiktok, videos were posted to trending sounds from the Brat album, to further connect Kamala to Brat summer. The tagline “Hotties for Harris” was also coined to help appeal to younger voters who now see her as the “cool girl” candidate thanks to Charli XCX.

With the intentions of marketing towards Gen Z, @KamalaHQ has been extremely successful in finding common ground with the younger generation. Having older candidates, such as the ones we’ve seen in recent years, can make it hard to gain the interest of young adolescents. It feels as though older candidates are out of touch from the current world and are not able to connect with their target audience. By marketing Kamala on TikTok, the Harris campaign is able to reach exactly who they want — Gen Z. Each TikTok drums up more support and creates a feeling of relatability, emphasizing that the candidate is one of us and in touch with the current trend cycle. As the election draws closer, it is crucial for Gen Z to be eager and wanting to vote. They will be the deciding voices in certain swing states, and Kamala is doing everything she can to gain support and secure her spot as the next United States president. 

Madeline Soule is a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh and a first year member of University of Pittsburgh’s chapter of Her Campus. She is from Oxford, a small town in rural Pennsylvania. Maddie enjoys writing about current events; anything from politics to new music being released, opinion pieces, and life navigating the city! Maddie plans to major in Health Sciences with a certificate in Health Humanities on a Pre-Physician Assistant track. She hopes to attend PA school and become an OBGYN Physician Assistant! A few other facts about Maddie is that she has one dog, Ellie, who she misses so much at school! She is secretly a theater kid who is borderline obsessed with Hamilton and has seen it 4 times live (including sitting front row on Broadway!) She is a chronic show re-watcher and some of her favorites include New Girl, Gilmore Girls, and Lupin. When she isn’t busy, you can find Maddie playing tennis, reading, or spending time with family and friends.