The name is Mamdani: M.A.M.D.A.N.I. When Zohran Mamdani corrected Andrew Cuomo for mispronouncing his name at the New York City mayoral debate, it was immediately turned into a viral TikTok sound: remixed with Gwen Stefani's " Hollaback Girl." The sound has been featured in user-generated content surpassing 100 million views on TikTok. Remarkably, Mamdani was polling at 1% a year ago, and few New Yorkers recognized him. By the end of the campaign, Zohan Mamdani had mobilized a grassroots movement of 100,000 volunteers.
Fast-forward to today and the original DTC wave has since dissipated. Digital and social customer acquisition costs are much higher, driving traffic is more competitive, direct-to-consumer is no longer a differentiator, and venture capital has significantly dried up now that money is no longer dirt cheap. It would seem that the large brands and the rest of the market have closed the last remaining ad arbitrage opportunities-or have they?
A television commercial is a way of selling a product. A candidate's bid for votes should be a higher order of expression...with moral implications for the kind of people we are...and the kind we want to become. But, increasingly, candidates are merging the two...selling themselves like an underarm deodorant... in commercials just long enough to pound in some mindless slogan...that cheapens candidate... and voter alike,