Some of these examples will feature a more overt appeal to some kind of subversion, while others may feature a more subtle, tepid association with abstractions like ‘change’ and solidarity, though both are indicative of an aestheticization of politics which look to make some emotive connection with their audiences. Some of the more common themes featured include emphasizing a kind of important fight, generational messaging, social justice, and the aforementioned change and solidarity. The first examples below, several post that’ve been widely shared on instagram, are of a more pedestrian quality in regard to these practices, but are nonetheless good instances of how youth marketing can figure into political messaging and make for a fine starting point.
Immediately notable about the following examples is their design. They utilize a ‘minimalist advertising,’ something that “aims to strip out virtually all the visual noise that appears in many ads and focus on a lone visual message... minimalist ads can contain only text but not often.” It’s a style that has become a kind of status quo in advertising, particularly for younger companies. That these examples then use it establishes a kind of familiarity, particularly with younger people who’ve already been subject to advertising in the same style for most of their lives (Apple, for instance.) The pastel colors should also be noted, something which, as of late, has been in vogue, and has been noted to be a gimmick many companies have embraced in trying to reach younger demographics. Through pursuing these design choices, the following examples have a relevance and accessibility to young people that they wouldn’t otherwise have had they neglected to eschew advertising antiquities or propaganda of an older style.
1
2
The next one, an advert from the Biden campaign instagram, continues to indulge in youth marketing, while also more prominently featuring a sort of radical chic. It’s message is contained within what is a pop culture reference (an Iphone notification), and it, much like the previous instance, makes this advert current and youthful in a way other choices wouldn’t, being a reference to a framework younger people are already familiar with. The text contained within the notification is then indicative of some radical chic. The line of an “economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy” is something that’s enjoyed incredible popularity the past several years. In the aftermath of the Occupy Walls Street movement and when a self proclaimed socialist candidate receiving such emphatic support in the primary of a major party, the phrasing of thee text has certain connotations. It wouldn’t be entirely inexact to describe the sentiment as being fashionable; younger age demographics, with many youths having come of age during the last recession, have been perceived as sympathizing more with notions about wealth distribution, and of change in general. While not articulating any particular policy position, the Biden campaign is able to elicit and associate itself with all the imagery and left-of-centre politics tethered, in the popular imagination, to these platitudes about wealth distribution (‘we are the 99%’ could be another one), while still remaining vague enough so that it doesn’t express a definitive support for those politics or anything tangible. Many people are looking for change, and have positive feelings toward the idea of addressing wealth distribution. Then, much like marketing is an appeal to human wants, the advert is subtly associating their desired changes and feelings with the Biden campaign.
The next one, from the Biden campaign as well, touches on similar themes, though it has slightly different imagery. It features a suited hand clutching several hundred dollar bills, and to the left a piece of text that reads “we shouldn’t just celebrate the labor of our workers, we should pay them a decent wage.” The hand elicits some of the same imagery from the previous advert, though this time it’s more anthropomorphic. In the context of a bolded “labor” and “wages,” it presents a connection to someone working in the financial services sector or a corporate executive, and particularly those images tethered to greed, like a Gordon Gecko type. The word “labor” as well has some cursory relevance to unions, class struggle, left-of-centre politics, or an adversarial relationship with the Gordon Gecko’s of the world. The advert is, here, trying it’s best to touch on a more socialistic sentiment so that, just like the previous example, it associates that sentiment with the Biden campaign, and makes the Biden campaign more palatable for people interested in some vague leftism (note that a priority for the Biden campaign has been trying to placate Bernie Sanders supporters and the ‘progressive’ wing of the Democratic Party, and so this probably has something to do with these adverts).
Of all the examples, the last two, adverts from the popular @settleforbiden account, feature radical chic to the greatest extremity. They contain pictures of both Angela Davis and Noam Chomsky, two well known leftists, and put them next to text that reads “[Angela Davis or Noam Chomsy] is settling for Biden. What do you know that [Angela Davis or Noam Chomsky] doesn’t?” These are, like the account names implies, meant to convince people with socialistic leanings to get behind the Biden campaign. That they chose to feature Angela Davis and Noam Chomsky is pertinent though; it is, primarily, because of their celebrity. There are a myriad of respected leftist academics that’ve endorsed Biden, like Cornel West for instance, but Angela Davis and Noam Chomsky feature because they have a celebrity and image, both among leftists and, to an extent, among the larger body politic, that Cornel West doesn't. Angela Davis and Noam Chomsky are charismatic figures, and so the advert looks to direct those many who sing their praises to get behind the Biden campaign. It, in a way, gives the Biden campaign a kind of edge it doesn’t have otherwise (particularly with Angela Davis. The term radical chic was actually first coined in an essay regarding an allegedly feigned interest in the Black Panthers by white liberals from the professional-managerial class) in what is tantamount to celebrity endorsement or product placement by corporate advertisers. The text in these is clever as well, in that it challenges the reader (What do you know that they don’t) and puts the onus on them to defend their position instead of the other way around. The point of
Footnotes
1) Dontigney, Eric. "Minimalism in Advertising." Small Business - Chron.com. Chron.com, 21 Nov. 2017. Web. 10 Oct. 2020.
2) Murphy, Jen. "Beyond Millennial Pink: How One Generation's Colors Are Changing Everything." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 06 Aug. 2019. Web. 10 Oct. 2020.