The Story Behind Florida’s Weird Billboard Targeting Trump

Charli XCX may be our “favorite reference,” as she sings on her hit album “Brat,” but “weird” is the Democrats’ new favorite way to refer to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.

One digital billboard, which ran from Aug. 9-12, sought to harness this confluence of internet memes. The ad simply stated “weird” in the visual language of the “Brat” album, with black text over a lime green background. The billboard appeared along Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County, Fla., a few miles south of Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.

Charli XCX’s viral summer album became linked to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign when the British popstar tweeted “kamala IS brat” on July 21, following President Joe Biden announcing his support for Harris after dropping out of the race. The Harris campaign has since embraced all things Brat Summer in its social media marketing.

The billboard, which introduces the “weird” reference to the Harris-Charli XCX chat, was the brainchild of two New York-based creatives who have worked for various ad agencies. The two individuals requested anonymity to avoid becoming the focus of the story, but their identities are known to ADWEEK.

“Now Brat green doesn’t just mean Brat summer—it means Kamala, democracy,” one of the creatives told ADWEEK. “By putting the word ‘weird’ in green, everyone understands that’s Kamala-coded, that’s Brat-coded. It’s interesting: Just one word on this one color can mean so much to someone, and that’s all that it says.”

The creatives wanted to use their talents to support the Harris campaign. Through friends of friends, they partnered with Florida Immigrant Coalition Votes (FLIC Votes), the political arm of the nonprofit organization Florida Immigrant Coalition, which helped bring the billboard to life.

“We were feeling quite miserable about the state of the world, and sort of wanted to encourage more people to vote,” the second creative said. “We just decided to speak to Gen Z in the language they know.”

While a project like this would normally take a year to complete at big agencies, said one of the creatives, based on past experience, the “weird” billboard took a matter of days to go from idea to finished product. The total media buy: $600.

The two creatives are not in touch with the Harris campaign. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Brat-vertising

The Democrats’ tactic of using “weird” to describe Trump and Vance has gained momentum.

Data from social media performance engine Hootsuite, which tracks activity on blogs, news sites, and all major social platforms, shows the word “weird” appeared across the internet more than 1.8 million times on July 30. Although the term is appearing less frequently in mid-August, people are still using it at elevated levels compared to mid-July, prior to Democrats embracing it as part of their messaging strategy.

Thomas Kennedy, a Miami-based political activist who worked with FLIC Votes on the project, said the billboard’s brilliance comes from its simplicity and ability to communicate “what’s been resonating on social media and in mainstream media.”

Harnessing viral energy around the internet for an offline advertisement has its benefits.

“People recognize things in their physical spaces in a way that has more meaning than the online world,” said Stephanie Gutnik, global chief strategy officer at out-of-home ad agency Billups, who noted that OOH advertising is often cheaper and faster to buy than most people think.

Part of the reason the two creatives choose a billboard as the medium to deliver their message was because social channels can get saturated with content, they said. Plus, putting “weird” on a sign near Mar-a-Lago meant it was more likely Trump himself might see it, they explained.

The gamble with a one-word billboard free from any additional context is that many people passing by won’t understand. They might be unaware of the reference.

At the same time, however, those oblivious to Brat Summer may find the billboard compelling precisely because it’s so peculiar.

“I understand you have to be in the know to understand this, but there are layers to messaging,” said Tessa Petit, executive director of FLIC Votes. “You want people who are driving by to say, ‘What is that?’ then go and maybe Google ‘weird’ or see what’s trending about weird.”

As the Democratic National Convention approaches, the Harris and Trump campaigns have pushed into paid media, debuting new commercials airing in battleground states. Advertising dollars dedicated to the U.S. presidential general election are expected to reach $2.16 billion this year, up 17% compared to the 2020 race, according to advertising intelligence and analytics firm AdImpact.