Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nothing says ā€˜pro-lifeā€™ like letting children go hungry.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Itā€™s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day canā€™t get worse.

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

So many bastards, so little time.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

You donā€™t get rid of your umbrella while itā€™s still raining.

When I decide to be condescending, you wonā€™t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

It could be worse. Vance could have said ā€œpost-menopausal sows.ā€ Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

Todayā€™s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Reality always lies in wait for ā€¦ Democrats.

The current Supreme Court is a rogue court. Very dangerous.

Books are my comfort food!

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Iā€™m pretty sure thereā€™s only one Jack Smith.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Despite his magical powers, I donā€™t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Republicans donā€™t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Monday Evening Open Thread: The Art of Campaigning on Social Media

Monday Evening Open Thread: The Art of Campaigning on Social Media

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These tweets are taken from a longer thread about designing, and redesigning, campaign ads to fit TikTok-style media…


Reader Interactions

35Comments

  3. 3.

    Baud

    I’m old, but the disembodied head ads don’t appeal to me.

    Which is perfectly fine, since they shouldn’t waste a dime on me.

  4. 4.

    Ishiyama

    15 or 20 second ads work just fine; what matters is repetition. Many people click past an ad after 3 – 5 seconds, anyway. If you hold their attention for a few seconds longer, that’s a victory.

  6. 6.

    sdhays

    @Baud: I’m a (old) millennial, but I find the format really tacky. Apparently it’s popular.

    TikTok’s not a global powerhouse because people like what I like.

  7. 7.

    JaneE

    As expected, no targeted ads for either Harris or Trump where I live.Ā  Maybe later, because there are Democrats and at least up north a lot of old school Republicans who might not vote for either.

  8. 8.

    Scout211

    Our youngest and her three kids flew in for the weekend and it was heaven. I had a conversation with the my 14 year old granddaughter who said if she could vote, she would vote for Kamala Harris even though her dad is all in on Trump. Ā She gets her news from social media and she was more informed on what both candidates were supporting than many voters who rely on more traditional news sources.

    Obviously she isnā€™t a voter yet but young voters are only 4 years older than she is and get their news in the same way she does. Ā The Harris campaign knows what they are doing.

    ETA: Ā Traditional media still goes for the play-by-play horse race, sound bites and daily developments. Ā These tik toks explain policy differences in the candidates in just a few seconds.

  11. 11.

    Princess

    Fascinating. Thanks so much for posting these, AL. You can almost tell which group each ad plans to microtarget. A few things stood out : the way they seek to make her role as prosecutor into a positive, and the way they lean into the anti-price gouging message. Clearly that polls well ā€” no wonder David Brooks etc tried to kill it at birth. Also noticed that almost every ad included a still or two where sheā€™s a bit younger and smoking smoking hot. An attempt at a subliminal message?

    Is Trump doing vertical ads? Has anyone seen one?

  13. 13.

    Jess

    The Trump Tax one had a good emotional punch. The others seemed too “busy” and slapped together. I don’t really remember the content of them as well as the Trump Tax one. I think they should have more emotional content and less emphasis on explaining policy points. Maybe just one point per ad, with stronger visuals and music targeting a specific emotion or concern

    Edit: After all these years, I still remember Obama’s “make history” ad. And of course, we all remember the legendary “Daisy” ad.

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Yeah, I watched a few of those the other day when they were linked in the comments. Ā They didn’t appeal to me in the slightest, but I am not the target audience.

  15. 15.

    Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    I’ve started getting ads for Don Old and Ted Cruz (Blech!) on Youtube in the last couple of days. The Trump ones are him promising no taxes on SS or tips for service workers. They are ads you can’t skip past after 5 seconds too. Has any journalist asked him how he’s going to make up the lost revenue from these taxe breaks? I doubt it.*

    I live in SE PA and we’re getting big post card mailers almost daily from various PACs and committees as well as the trum campaign touting his record and lying about Kamala. Also disavowing project 2025. I’m not sure if they are going to every household or just to older white people even if we are registered Democrats.

    I used to use my ad blocker on Youtube but stopped that so content creators get the tiny fraction of a mil revenue from my eyeballs since I don’t want to pay for youtube premium.

  16. 16.

    Scout211

    @WaterGirl: They didnā€™t appeal to me in the slightest, but I am not the target audience.

    I would guess that the percentage of jackals who would find these short tik tok ads appealing is less than 10%. Ā LOL. Ā Luckily, the Harris-Walz campaign makes long form political ads for the rest of us, too.

    ETA: edited because Iā€™m not sure about the upper age of tik tok users.

  17. 17.

    geg6

    @Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!):

    Exact opposite side of the state (Beaver County) and Iā€™m getting texts, YT ads, obviously GOP/push pollsters and emails from Cheetoliniā€™s campaign. Ā I can only guess itā€™s where I live and my age that targets me. Ā But a cursory review of any of my social media, my voter registration or anything about me would tell them itā€™s a lost cause. Ā But Iā€™m happy to see them wasting $$ on people like me.

  18. 18.

    karen gail

    I think the ads are great! even if I am about 35 years older than average voter. I also “like” that the ads don’t appeal to older people which tells me that they are appealing to younger people.

    Next door neighbor is close to my children’s age but his attitude and way of looking at things would give one the impression that he is in late 70’s or early 80’s. Yes, he is a diehard maga.

  19. 19.

    satby

    TikTok ads and videos are also reshared on other social media: Twitter and it’s substitutes (not sure about mastodon; but Threads, FB, and Blue Sky). Lots of Harris/Walz ads on (oddly enough) the PCH sweepstakes app and website. They’ve done some good research on how to reach people who wouldn’t be easily reached other ways and for far less $$ than typical media buys. Smart.

  21. 21.

    Jess

    @satby: Well, my main reason is that they don’t have an emotional punch that sticks with you. I think the right emotional flavor is key, especially for a young, distracted audience.

  23. 23.

    frosty

    @geg6: Nothing here just north of Baltimore. I went through three months of mail yesterday. Not one thing from the Trump campaign or the Repubs. Two or three letters from Casey. Two from Biden dated in June.

    Iā€™m not complaining! Now, email and text, thatā€™s much different. One or two new money begs from Harris-Walz every time I open it up.

  24. 24.

    karen marie

    @Scout211:Ā  My issue with them is they end abruptly, they just cut out.Ā  I’m not watching them in their natural environment, so that may be the problem.

    I looked at the “where’s the money going” charts and had to laugh.Ā  Individual-1 is all “crime” and “immigration” all the time.Ā  The dollar amounts are muchĀ  lower than Harris but he’s spending enough in NJ and VA that they make the cut!Ā  Very weird.Ā  (Here’s the chart for Harris.)

    The only polls I’m seeing for NJ were before Biden dropped out.Ā  They show Individual-1 leading (against Biden, and within the margin of error).Ā  (I can’t believe people seriously vote for Individual-1.)

    But what makes Individual-1 campaign spending more confusing to me is that Virginia is not even close – the 538 polling average has Harris up by seven points.

    (edited for clarity)

  26. 26.

    satby

    @Jess: kids have been emoted to death in this society. This is the most skeptical generation ever. They’ve done active shooter drills since kindergarten. These ads work because they don’t have any hyperbole.

  27. 27.

    lowtechcyclist

    @satby:

    I do think itā€™s kind of funny several of you donā€™t like the ads. Theyā€™re good. Geezers.

    I’m 70, and I thought these ads were great. They were short (10, 15, or 22 seconds, except for one that I think ran a whole 27 seconds), got right into it, made their point, and done. No wasted intro time that would get most people to click on past before the ad said anything meaningful.

    Obviously since I’m 70, my liking them says nothing about whether younger folks will watch these ads rather than click on by, but I’ve got to think there’s a better chance with short and snappy ads like these.

  28. 28.

    satby

    @Starfish: Google Tizzy Ent on TikTok: 6 million followers, 251.x million likes on his videos. He was also one of the content creators at the Democratic Convention.

    The heads talking over video is a common TikTok method. Lots of them use it. Clearly not to your taste, but other ads will be.

  29. 29.

    satby

    @lowtechcyclist: yep, I’m 69, extremely online, and these ads are what I’m used to seeing in content pegged to younger folks.

    Ads like the Lincoln Project or Vote Vets are great, but also for a different audience.

    The point is, they all bypass major media and are friendly for streaming and social media sharing.

  32. 32.

    Armadillo

    Genuine question: What is the idea behind having an ad where half of it is taken up by an an animation of balls on a track or rings or whatever?

  33. 33.

    E.

    I think theyā€™re good ads but even if I didnā€™t, I would trust the campaign to know more than I do. Watching them I realized, I am going to dance a jig if she wins. I really am. A grown-ass man.

  34. 34.

    Armadillo

    @Armadillo: ok I asked my daughter who is on TikTok. She says the ring or ball animation is to keep people’s attention. She said sometimes ads are paired with Subway Surf footage? Video of someone playing Subway Surf.

  35. 35.

    ascap_scab

    As someone who constantly multi-tasks (reading articles, playing games) with the TV on, I hate ads with no narration. I have no idea what the ad was about. At least tag an ad at the end with “Mercedes Benz” or “Vote for Kamala Harris”.

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