Me & Mamdani
Marketing Mastermind or Democratic Mirage?
I confess. I didn't follow the NYC Mayoral Primary. I live in Connecticut. No one I know voted for Mamdani arguing: "He's 32. He knows shit about shit." "No substance. An antisemite who supports a global intifada. Any Jew that voted for him should be ashamed." "Mamdani lacks common sense & would be a loser like de Blasio.”
So, is Zohran Mamdani a Marketing Mastermind or Democratic Mirage? It was time for me to see what all the hullabaloo was about. And so, I read & watched everything I could find to understand his magic, meteoric rise & what it means.
Without a doubt, Mamdani executed one of the most brilliant branding campaigns in years. That terrifies me almost as much as it wows me.
A Marketing Masterclass, Mamdani didn't just pull off a political win—he executed Challenger Brand 101. A case study of how to break through noise, earn market share & mindshare with clarity, consistency & raw energy.
He demoed my ONE WORD branding ethos. His word: Affordability. Not some focus-grouped, committee-approved gobbledygook, but a single word & powerful promise that cut through everything else. "Afford to Live. Afford to Dream." Brilliant. Clean. Urgent. Ergo: you can't afford not to vote for him.
He branded like an Insurgent. With age (33), Democratic Socialist, Muslim, Immigrant from Uganda seemingly against him, he turned every “so-called” weakness into proof that he was the change candidate. While establishment Democrats muttered wait your turn (sound familiar, Barack?), he built a movement.
He was everywhere. His visual identity alone—that electric blue & orange color palette—couldn’t be missed & was energizing in a way that made every other candidate look beige. His social media strategy was relentless. You couldn't scroll through NYC feeds without seeing his face.
He told a story. He didn’t rattle off policy positions, but instead delivered a narrative about who gets left behind & who fights for them. He gave people something Democrats have been struggling to provide: Hope mixed with righteous anger.
This is how you light a fire under voters who've been told to settle for incremental change while their rent doubles & their dreams shrink.
Innovative campaigning. Grassroots mobilizing. Candid social media magnificence. Breaking down barriers. Exciting a movement.
Yes...yes…yes…but…but…but
Here's Where My Admiration Hits a Wall
And it's not about his age.
There's the whole global intifada thing he can't seem to walk back despite everyone giving him a 2nd, 3rd, & 4th chance. Supporting a "global intifada" is either tone-deaf, political malpractice or something more concerning. Listen, I'm Jewish. I'm no Netanyahu fan. I'm sickened by Gaza. But "globalize the intifada" gives permission to people who deliberately murder innocent Jews. That cannot be dismissed & must not be tolerated. End of story.
And what exactly has he accomplished? Taxi-driver debt relief?
What is he proposing? Government-run grocery stores. Free buses. Nice. Who pays? How do they work? Running a city of 8.478M is not some entry-level position where you get to learn on the job. It's a beast. Crippling snowstorms. Sanitation strikes. Homeless in Times Square. Squalor on the subways.
And then there’s my own personal bugaboo. I tend to notice subliminal cues. Watch enough of Mamdani & you may notice a little smirk at the end of his answers that feels less like confidence & more like he's enjoying a private joke the rest of us aren't in on.
These dilemmas make the Mamdani phenomenon both fierce & fearsome. He represents everything the Dems desperately need & everything they may live to regret.
Look, before the pitchforks come out. Dems definitely need his energy, passion & fresh thinking. We need to ditch the focus-grouped talking points & constipated consultants. And I’m 100% for generational change & progressive ideas.
But we also need leaders who can govern, not just campaign. Who know the difference between inspiring rhetoric & reality.
The Democratic Party has been sleep-walking through a crisis of relevance, offering technical solutions to emotional problems. Mamdani understands something many Dems have forgotten: politics is about feelings first, policies second.
So back to my original question: Mastermind or Mirage?
The mastermind part is undeniable. Mamdani is modern branding brilliance that should be studied & practiced.
The mirage part? Hmmm. Bold branding is no substitute for substance. Gifted messaging can't govern a city. As to the smirk? Sorry, it still irks me.
Mamdani has indeed shaken Democratic politics awake. But a wake-up call might also be a blaring alarm clock.
The Democratic Party desperately needs disruption. But it needs competence along with charisma.
Mamdani may be the future of progressive politics. But until he proves he's more than a social media sensation with some serious blind spots, he remains what slick branding can be: all sizzle, no steak.