RIP kamala’s “brat summer”

It’s been over twenty days since Kamala assumed the Democratic presidential nomination, and beyond not doing a single interview, she needs to define what “brat” means… not in a press release, but in an interview.

We’re already over the viral rollout, yet the kitschy lime green Kamala album cover lookalike is still set as her Twitter cover photo.

So, what does “brat” even mean? And why did they think this was a good branding decision?

Per the Today Show, here’s a quick definition of “brat” for you:

Soon after the [Charli XCX’s new album, “brat”] release(d), Gen Z christened it the season of the brat, an aesthetic trend defined by party animal antics, cool-girl style, and lime green everything.

The trend quickly took over TikTok, with 41.2K posts under the hashtag #bratsummer.

While the word “brat” usually evokes feelings of middle school angst, brat summer is all about accepting your imperfections while embracing the chaos.

As a chronically online public relations professional, I had just learned what it meant when I did some digging.

So, my first thought when I saw Kamala HQ unveil its branding was a resounding “Why.”

So, Siri, why did the Kamala camp decide this was the right artistic direction, and what does it mean for Kamala as a candidate?

A few questions here.

Q: How does the lime green “brat summer” branding reflect Kamala?

A: Her official campaign branding (with now-VP nominee Tim Walz) is minimalistic and traditional Democratic blue.

Q: Does “brat summer” make Kamala look like a serious politician?

A: No, but she doesn’t seem like a serious candidate either.

Q: Will “brat summer” mobilize her voters?

A: Probably not.

Through unleashing this brand in her rollout, Kamala Harris’s camp defines her as a “feral party girl” when her party spent over a year reiterating that they couldn’t define “woman.”

At 59, Kamala is the youngest presidential candidate, but the trope makes her seem like a Gen Z or millennial candidate.

But, let’s take a minute to compare and contrast to her primary opponent: former President Donald Trump.

What I like most about former President Donald Trump’s communications plan is that he doesn’t buy into these trends; he creates them.

His campaign does not need to waste time poring over pop culture references to find something that fits his brand. And there’s no need to find ways to create content when he does it all for himself.

Now, let’s look at the Democrats’ social media manager problem from the back end:

Most communications professionals, especially in the political sphere, are a generation (or two) younger than their managers or candidates.

We understand social media more than our older millennial, Gen X, or boomer bosses. Our generation knows the ins and outs because we grew up with social media — YouTube, Vine, Twitter, TikTok, you name it, we’ve probably created accounts on it.

But, these millennial or Gen Z social media managers are not their boss or company.

It’s not the social media manager’s name on the campaign banners or their name on the door.

As someone who runs her own business, I’m lucky enough to have jurisdiction over what I post online on my company’s behalf.

My brand’s tone is selectively cheeky, and I like to make what I post conversational. It’s mine, so I can choose what to post and what message to relay.

Just because something is trending online or in pop culture doesn’t mean you should put effort into adding it to your social media calendar for the week.

Trends die quickly. Kamala’s feral party girl “brat summer” died the second Tim Walz was announced as her Vice Presidential nominee.