The Harris campaign capitalizes on viral memes, but do Gen Z social media references resonate with older voters?

Vice President Harris' campaign leaned into the viral "coconut tree" and "brat" memes that stormed the internet last week and garnered the attention of Gen Z, but the unconventional campaign strategy is foreign to older voters, many of whom were left wondering what "brat" even means.

Sergio José Gutiérrez, CEO of Espora CEO, which serves as a digital political advisor to campaigns across the world, told Fox News Digital that a "meme" can be defined as a concept, behavior, style or piece of media that spreads from person to person within a culture often with the intent of conveying a particular phenomenon, theme or meaning. 

A meme, he said, can take the form of images, videos, phrases or any other kind of content that is rapidly shared and could also be modified by individuals across the internet in a way that is humorous or satirical in service of a political or social moment in time.

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One of the reasons memes are so popular, Gutiérrez said, is because humor is an effective way to communicate political messages, because it helps create and consolidate shared meanings in popular culture.

"In other words, to have these kind of symbols makes complex issues more understandable by everyone, more relatable for younger people," he said.

Eric Dahan, Founder of Mighty Joy, which helps commerce-focused brands convert social communities into sales, described memes as a unique format because it packs information with spin to create "headlines really easily."

After the pop phenomenon Charli XCX tweeted, "kamala IS brat" hours after President Biden ended his own reelection bid and endorsed Harris, the campaign's X account capitalized on the "brat" phenomenon and changed the account's cover photo to feature the lime-hued color used on Charli XCX's album cover, replacing the words "Brat" with "Kamala HQ." 

"I think it's a tool and like any tool she's using it for her, but it also will continue to be used against her," Dahan said. "She's leaning in to a lot of this stuff she was made fun of to just kind of laugh it off [and] make it seem like just a personality trait, but she's sort of building her brand around this, specifically with the whole brat culture thing."

But, Dahan warned that there are a lot of Gen Z Americans who see the political meme campaign by Harris as "super cringe," which could make her seem "less serious." In addition, many older Americans were left scratching their heads about what "brat" means in the context of an American president. 

"It's someone who's maybe untethered and unaccountable, behaves badly, does drugs, is kind of annoying, breaks social norms, says stupid things, is messy in terms of thought and presentation," Dahan said. "Is that a brand you want from the person leading your country when there are so many issues? I don't think that's smart from a branding standpoint."

Dahan's definition is similar to what Charli XCX herself explained in a TikTok video about the "brat" album.

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In the days following the announcement of Harris' presidential run, a viral clip of her from 2023 recirculated in which she told a story about her mother asking her "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" in which she added "You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you." Coconut memes ensued amid the "brat" phenomenon. 

"From the social media standpoint, she's the one we're talking about now, not Trump," Dahan said. "So, there's something to say for that. But yeah, I mean, I think this could very well hurt her and I don't think ‘brat’ is a good thing for a president. I don't think that's what we want, and I think, particularly, there are a lot of really tough questions she's going to have to answer."

Dahan also said the idea of a "meme culture" dominating politics speaks to the limited attention span of a society fueled by social media. 

"Social [media] rewards engagement and this feedback loop that's just rigged to hack our brains, to just keep us paying attention and it does that by showing us the most engaging stuff, which is typically not longer form or more nuanced bits of information," Dahan said. "It's typically bolder, salacious, louder, typically more vapid or empty pieces of information," he added. "The embracing of meme culture is interesting to me because maybe, I'm not talking about politics, I'm not a political expert, but… gaining attention without having to focus on information of substance that might be more difficult or more controversial."

But, Gutiérrez maintains that memes are a powerful political tool that helps a candidate gain notoriety.

"Of course, these must be considered with a kind of prospective risk, but the emotions that a meme can provoke aren't planned or can be planned," he added. "Once in the digital ecosystem, the reception will evoke different emotions in the voters. In the end, what Kamala Harris is trying to do is to address voters with a focus, which is to persuade them. It doesn't have to be rational, so it's working for her."

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Although, Gutiérrez said Trump remains the most "memeable" figure in American politics. 

"Who's the best meme agent in the United States?" Gutiérrez asked. "It would be Donald Trump, not Kamala Harris. Donald Trump continues to dominate the meme culture with a high engagement in viral content."

"He doesn't care that people are talking bad about him as long as the message reaches the targets he is aiming for," he added. "He just provokes them, so they become the human tools or the human mules to spread his message. Just by being controversial and provocative, that's enough for him and he's really good at it."

Dahan said regardless of how viral Harris memes become, at some point the vice president is going to have to face the problems of the Biden administration. 

"This sort of less serious, more jovial tone… is that really what is going to work given all the issues that we're facing?" he asked. "We're in, what, two major wars on a global stage, there's inflation, economic slowdown, immigration issues… that's what people are talking about." 

"Is that what we want when we have a lot of problems on our hands?" he asked.