Can Bloomberg Meme His Way Past the Competition?
The 78-year-old billionaire has unleashed an unlikely barrage of meme-based ads to gain favor with social media savvy millennials (Source)
In 2016, a grasp of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter propelled Donald Trump to the highest office in the land. The president’s ability to genuinely connect with prospective voters shattered antiquated expectations of a neatly packaged, professional online campaign presence. Although it is often overlooked due to his political divisiveness, Trump was the first American politician to truly tap into the power of social media.
Fast forward to 2020, and now another New York billionaire is taking a page out of Trump’s playbook. With deep pockets and a lot of ground to gain in the Democratic primary race, Michael Bloomberg has entered the peculiar realm of Instagram meme culture.
Last week, a number of popular accounts—many of whom have north of one million followers—began posting a slew of self-deprecating images that intentionally portrayed Bloomberg as an out-of-touch politician attempting to connect with the “youths.”
Popular meme accounts like @tank.sinatra have uploaded messages sent directly from the former New York mayor’s campaign
Involving presidential candidates in viral jokes on social media is nothing new. What is new, however, is just how in on these jokes figures like Trump and Bloomberg seem to have become. Candidates of days past like Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush were plagued by their notoriously clumsy online personas, but by leaning into the stereotype of the cringey politician, 2020 hopefuls are hoping to turn that notion on its head.
On Feb. 19, the New York Times reported that this flurry of online activity was propagated by Meme 2020, a burgeoning company formed by the administrators of many of Instagram's most prolific comedy accounts.
Meme 2020, which has been referred to as a “powerful force in the influencer economy,” seeks to leverage their clients’ access to aging politicians’ most prized demographic: millennials.
Accounts such as @grapejuiceboys and @tank.sinatra have garnered acclaim on Instagram for routinely posting engaging content to users who have become increasingly disillusioned with cookie-cutter political advertising. Now, Bloomberg is contracting Meme 2020 to post clever endorsements that address the absurd lengths that candidates will go to appear #relatable.
The effectiveness of this strategy remains to be seen, but Bloomberg has the cash to keep up this social media blitz if his heart so desires. Despite the belated launch of his campaign in November 2019, and lack of engagement with early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire, Bloomberg has pledged to use his personal fund to defeat Donald Trump and has witnessed a meteoric rise to second in many national polls. He only trails Bernie Sanders, who has also dipped his toes in more authentic social media marketing, as evidenced by his appearances on popular podcasts such as the “Joe Rogan Experience” and spread of provocative videos on platforms like NowThis News.
Regardless of their effect on the Democratic primary, tactics like these from the Bloomberg campaign signal an American political landscape that is adapting to the breakneck pace of online culture. Long have meme spaces on Instagram and Twitter felt uniquely independent from the reach of corporate political interests, but perhaps those days are now gone.