Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential marketing campaign has discovered itself beneath scrutiny after revelations about its extravagant spending—together with a hefty $2.5 million cost to Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions.
New particulars reveal that the marketing campaign’s monetary selections, which included star-studded occasions, high-end catering, and influencer partnerships, left the Democratic Get together grappling with a $20 million debt following a decisive loss to Donald Trump.
The attention-popping determine for Oprah’s September city corridor occasion, initially reported as $1 million, was clarified by The New York Instances to be nearer to $2.5 million.
The cost lined a full-scale manufacturing, together with set design, lighting, crew, and gear. Whereas Oprah emphasised that she didn’t personally take any charges, she defined the need of paying her workforce. “I used to be not paid a dime,” she commented on Instagram, including, “My manufacturing firm Harpo was requested to herald set design, lights, cameras, crew, producers, and each different merchandise essential to placed on a reside manufacturing. The individuals who labored on that manufacturing wanted to be paid. And have been. Finish of story.”
Regardless of the star energy of Oprah and different A-list celebrities like Girl Gaga, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, and Katy Perry, questions have arisen in regards to the effectiveness of such high-profile endorsements.
Kamala’s marketing campaign, which reportedly spent an eye-watering $100 million per week throughout its condensed run from late July to November, resulted in a sweeping defeat.
Trump secured 312 Electoral School votes—the most important margin since 1988—and the Republican Get together maintained management of the Home, regained the Senate, and fortified its affect within the Supreme Courtroom with a 6-3 conservative majority.
© Andrew HarnikThe marketing campaign’s indulgent funds has sparked debate inside Democratic circles. Whereas celeb appearances and glitzy occasions have been supposed to energise voters, critics argue that the cash might need been higher spent on grassroots organizing and voter outreach.
Kamala’s marketing campaign allotted funds for an array of luxurious bills, together with practically $9,000 on gourmand ice cream from manufacturers like Candy Lucy’s and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Lotions, and nearly $15,000 on meals supply companies similar to Uber Eats and DoorDash. These bills have left some questioning whether or not the marketing campaign’s spending priorities aligned with its mission to attach with on a regular basis People.
© Myung J. ChunIn stark distinction, Trump’s marketing campaign took a less expensive strategy, relying closely on free media appearances, together with high-profile podcasts like The Joe Rogan Expertise, which garnered tens of tens of millions of views and listens.
The previous president’s technique of reaching voters by way of accessible platforms, somewhat than extravagant occasions, has been credited with serving to him safe his victory.
One of the crucial hanging examples of Harris’s marketing campaign spending was the $900,000 allotted to order advert house on Las Vegas’s iconic Sphere through the last week of the election.
© GettyMoreover, $2.6 million was spent on personal jet journey throughout an October blitz of battleground states. Whereas such expenditures aimed to make a splash in key areas, their impression has been referred to as into query following the marketing campaign’s underwhelming outcomes.
Kamala’s marketing campaign left the Democratic Get together with a $20 million debt, forcing continued fundraising efforts even after the election’s conclusion. Supporters have been inundated with requests for donations to assist cowl the deficit, elevating issues in regards to the sustainability of such high-cost campaigns sooner or later.
