US Elections 2024: Brand Engagement Highlights

Published 17 October 2024

Author

3 min read

Brands activating around the November 5 US election are navigating a sea-change in attitudes (Gallup reports significant drop-off in the consumer belief that businesses should take a stance on current affairs) while leveraging a potent topic. We highlight how American marketers are taking this on: tackling election stress, standing up for reproductive rights, and encouraging voter participation with a partisan lean.

Key Stats

General

38%	Americans have soured on brands engaging in social or political issues: only 38% believe businesses should take a public stance on current events, a drop of 10 percentage points since 2022
46%	While younger Americans (under 30) are the most likely to say businesses should take a public stance on current events (46%), that’s a decrease from 59% in 2022
67%	In a September 2024 poll, 67% of Americans reported feeling anxious about the November presidential election, with 31% feeling very anxious
21%	In October 2024, 21% of Americans polled said they had become estranged from a family member due to disagreements over controversial topics, while 22% had blocked a family member on social media for the same reason
76%	Younger Americans are most likely to believe abortion should be legal: 76% of those under 30 believe this, compared with 63% of all American adults
12%	According to a 2023 poll backed by US dating conglomerate Match Group, 12% of US singles under 50 said the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade had made them more hesitant to date, and 11% reported having sex less often

Headspace Toolkit Tackles Cross-Partisan Stress: Recent polling finds 67% of Americans are feeling anxious about the election (Yahoo News). Tackling this, meditation app Headspace launched a Politics Without Panic toolkit, created with US non-profit When We All Vote. It includes a quiz determining users’ “election stress persona” (such as ‘The Politically Panicked’ or ‘The Weary Worrier”), a grounding exercise, and two election-specific meditation sessions. Meanwhile, on YouTube, Headspace offers advice on discussing politics with family – disagreements have caused 21% of Americans to become estranged from a family member (APA).

Headspace

Ben & Jerry’s Deploys Multiple Platforms for Voter Equality: Sticking with its longtime commitment to activism (advocating for causes including LGBTQ+ rights and racial justice), ice-cream brand Ben & Jerry’s has launched limited-edition flavour Churn Out the Vote – proceeds benefit US non-profit Black Voters Matter (BVM). With branded vans dispensing ice cream, Ben & Jerry's is also backing BVM's on-the-ground activations in Georgia, where voter suppression laws (which make it harder to vote) disproportionately affect Black voters. The topic is explored across the most recent episodes of the activism-themed Ben & Jerry’s podcast.

Ben & Jerry's

Women’s Telehealth Brand Rallies for ‘Roevember’: The overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022 has made reproductive rights a paramount issue for many. Telling followers it wanted to “take the anger, frustration, and sadness we’ve felt since the end of Roe and turn it into a statement,” Hey Jane, which sells abortion pills via telehealth, launched voter-engagement campaign Ready for Roevember.

A striking pink-and-red microsite boasts 70s-style typography, which recalls the era of the original Roe v Wade decision in 1973. It includes voting information and a guide detailing the record number of abortion-related measures on state ballots, and how key political roles impact abortion rights. A digital toolkit offers social media graphics and printable rally posters or lawn signs, while Instagram and TikTok posts support the campaign. Several small brands are co-sponsoring the drive, including fellow women’s telehealth providers Elektra Health and Nurx.

Meanwhile, start-up Winx (which sells pregnancy tests and morning-after pills) sponsored a post from the Democratic National Convention by young activist and influencer Deja Foxx discussing reproductive rights – boosting the brand’s social media engagement to 17.7% that week from less than 0.5% normally.

Hey Jane

@heyjanehealth Class is in session! Quick lesson on the backstory of Roevember! Who's #readyforroevember ? #vote #election2024 #voterregistration #roevember ♬ original sound - heyjanehealth

@deja_foxx Here in the #DNC villa all the hot people know reproductive rights and even emergency contraception are on the ballot. @Winx Health ♬ original sound - Deja Foxx

Dating Apps Back Abortion Rights: With their core young adult audience most likely to believe abortion should be legal (see Key Stats), several dating apps are highlighting abortion access as a key issue. Dating app OKCupid posted to Instagram that “Reproductive rights are on the ballot”, directing to a branded page featuring voter registration information (operated by When We All Vote). Meanwhile, Tinder has partnered with US fashion label Area on a reproductive rights T-shirt, posting to Instagram from Area’s NY Fashion Week show.

Texas-based Bumble – whose strapline is “putting women first, always” – helped to fund the documentary Zurawski v Texas, which details how the state’s restrictive abortion laws have harmed women needing emergency care. Bumble has sponsored screenings of the film (which doesn’t have a distributor) in Texas and elsewhere. Recent Instagram posts, featuring the documentary’s makers, promote the screenings.

OkCupid

Tinder X Area

OkCupid

Tinder X Area

OkCupid

Bumble

Glossier Attempts Provocative Political Bent: A deliberately provocative ad from cult beauty brand Glossier features a cleavage close-up with the line “Vote for you” (also referencing Glossier’s fragrance line, You). Smaller print says: “Vote for your daughter’s future. Vote for your grandmother’s legacy.”

Launched with a full-page New York Times ad, the predominantly out-of-home and digital campaign is running in seven swing states. Glossier detailed its donation to the American non-profit Reproductive Freedom for All in its Instagram post announcing the campaign. While generating 35,000 likes in its first day, the post also prompted pushback – a comment with nearly 2,000 likes urges Glossier to “stop pushing political views”.

Glossier