2024 Harris-Walz Presidential Campaign Commercials
The Vibe, The Pivot, and The New Way Forward
The playlist of videos available above is a historical record of one of the most abrupt and high-stakes pivots in American political history. The 2024 Harris-Walz presidential campaign commercials document a compressed, furious 100-day sprint. They capture the moment a struggling reelection bid was transformed into a movement of “Joy,” only to collide with the stubborn realities of a polarized electorate.
To watch these spots is to see the Democratic Party attempting to perform a mid-air engine replacement. Following President Joe Biden’s historic withdrawal from the race in July 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, inherited a campaign machinery built for a “Soul of the Nation” defense and rapidly retooled it for a “New Way Forward” offense. The commercials you are about to view are artifacts of that transformation—slick, energetic, and culturally attuned, yet battling to define a candidate who had been in the public eye for years but remained, to many, undefined.
The Launch: Reclaiming Freedom
The defining aesthetic of the Harris-Walz media campaign was established in its very first minutes. The launch ad, titled “We Choose Freedom,” abandoned the somber, piano-laden warnings of the Biden era. Instead, it pulsed to the driving rhythm of Beyoncé’s anthem “Freedom.”
This was a deliberate strategic choice. The commercials in this playlist position “freedom” not as a conservative concept of deregulation, but as a liberal concept of bodily autonomy. You will see ads that frame the election as a choice between a future of expanded rights and a past of restriction. The “Freedom” spots were visual montages of diverse crowds, smiling faces, and forward momentum, designed to create a “vibe” shift that would energize young voters and women who had grown weary of the grim “democracy is dying” messaging.
The Strategy: “We’re Not Going Back”
If “Freedom” was the mood, “We’re Not Going Back” was the battle cry. This slogan became the anchor of the advertising campaign, appearing in TV spots and digital clips alike.
The commercials utilizing this theme were explicitly comparative. They juxtaposed the chaotic imagery of the Trump presidency—the January 6th riots, the pandemic confusion—with the steady, prosecutor-led vision of Harris. The strategy was to make the election a referendum on the past. By framing Donald Trump not just as a threat, but as a retrograde force trying to drag the country into a bygone era, the ads attempted to unite a coalition of progressives, moderates, and “Never Trump” Republicans under the banner of the future.
The Walz Factor: The “Weird” Offensive
The selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as the Vice Presidential nominee brought a distinct Midwestern flavor to the advertising. Walz, a former high school football coach and teacher, was deployed in commercials to soften the ticket’s image and appeal to white working-class men.
Walz’s branding of the Trump-Vance ticket as “Weird” was one of the most successful organic messaging campaigns of the cycle, and it quickly migrated into paid media. You will see commercials where Walz uses his “Coach” persona to dismantle Republican talking points with a folksy, “common sense” dismissal. These ads were less about high-minded constitutional arguments and more about social norms—arguing that the Republican obsession with cultural grievances was simply strange and out of step with regular people.
The Economic Pivot: The Opportunity Economy
While the “vibes” carried the summer, the fall advertising had to address the elephant in the room: inflation. The Harris campaign rolled out a series of commercials focused on the “Opportunity Economy.”
These spots were designed to reintroduce Kamala Harris to the electorate. They focused heavily on her biography, specifically her time working at McDonald’s and her middle-class upbringing. The goal was to counter the “San Francisco liberal” attacks by grounding her in the economic reality of the average voter.
Ads like “Price Gouging” and “Middle Class” featured Harris speaking directly to the camera, promising to go after corporate landlords and pharmaceutical companies. They sought to frame her not as a defender of the Biden economic record (which remained unpopular), but as a new warrior for the consumer. These ads were crucial in the Rust Belt, attempting to prove that she understood the pain of high grocery bills.
The Reproductive Rights Firewall
Throughout the campaign, the most consistent and emotionally searing commercials focused on abortion access. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Harris-Walz campaign bet heavily that reproductive rights would be the decisive wedge issue.
The playlist includes powerful testimonial ads featuring women who had suffered medical complications due to state abortion bans. These commercials were stark, often featuring a single subject speaking directly to the camera. They were designed to move the debate from the abstract to the personal, arguing that a second Trump term would lead to a national ban. This was the campaign’s firewall, the issue intended to mobilize suburban women to cross party lines.
The Closing Argument: Unstable and Unhinged
In the final weeks, the tone of the advertising darkened. The “Joy” of the summer gave way to urgent warnings about Donald Trump’s stability. The campaign utilized footage of Trump’s “enemy from within” comments, pairing them with testimonials from his former generals and aides.
These closing ads, often airing during NFL games and high-profile broadcasts, were a final attempt to disqualify Trump based on fitness. They argued that while voters might be frustrated with prices, handing the nuclear codes to an “unstable” man was a risk too great to take.
The Legacy of the 2024 Ads
As you explore the 2024 Harris-Walz presidential campaign commercials, you are viewing the output of a billion-dollar machine that tried to defy the laws of political gravity. These ads are polished, culturally resonant, and technically flawless. They successfully rebranded a Vice President in record time and created a genuine cultural moment.
However, they also serve as a testament to the limits of messaging in the face of deep structural dissatisfaction. The commercials told a story of freedom and opportunity, but they were competing against a reality of high prices and global instability. They remain a fascinating case study in how a campaign can win the battle for the “vibe” and the culture, yet still struggle to close the deal on the ground.
View these videos on the Political Jar YouTube Channel
Visit this Political Jar Page to view all Presidential Campaign Ads