Grassroots political organization The 99 Problems spearheaded the creation of The House of US, a virtual TikTok house populated with diverse creators who share the same goal: Seeing the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket come out on top on Election Day.
The 99 Problems described itself as a group of like-minded, multiracial, male and female Biden/Harris supporters from fields including culture, entertainment, marketing, professional sports and venture capital, and it said the goal of The House of US is to ensure that young voters have all of the information they need to take part in the process and successfully submit their ballots by Nov. 3.
A poll by the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics in September found that 63% of respondents between 18 and 29 will “definitely be voting” this year, up from 47% in 2016, and in addition to making sure they are prepared to vote, The 99 Problems is addressing issues such as voter suppression aimed at keeping young Black, Latinx and other non-white voters away from the polls.
Converse chief marketing officer Jesse Stollak, co-founder of The 99 Problems, took a sabbatical from Converse to focus on the election.
He said in a statement, “The data is clear that there’s never been a better opportunity to get young voters to the polls, and The 99 came together to play a role in making this happen. In 2008, Barack Obama used social media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter). In 2016, Donald Trump used targeted micro media messaging and buying. In 2020, we believe TikTok is the platform that can make a difference because it is peer-to-peer and preferred by this new generation. Our mission is simply to help them vote confidently on Election Day.”
The 99 Problems teamed up with Jade Darmawangsa of X8 Media and Ogo of TheThirteenth on the TikTok house, which is virtual due to the pandemic.
Members of The House of US include:
- King Science (8.9 million followers on TikTok)
- Itsjustaba (5.9 million)
- Thereal_tati (4.3 million)
- Nataliaseth (1.9 million)
- Samvicchiollo (1.9 million)
- Vagianna (1.6 million)
- Maya (200,000)
- AlexSey (200,000)
They are using the days leading up to Election Day to release content, created in their own personal styles, with the goal of reaching each member’s target demographic within the base of Generation Z and millennial voters.
King Science said in a statement, “We’re putting our creative skills to use to get out the vote. I’ve always wanted to use my TikTok to change the world. I believe The House of US influence can impact our society as we know it. No other projects I’ve done are as meaningful or important to me as this one.”
The 99 Problems cofounder Michael “Kiko” Akiko, former head of artists and repertoire at UMG Africa, added, “We’re using the best practices from our respective industries—the same ones we use to reach young consumers—to attempt something incredibly important, and our foundation is intentionally inclusive of a wide set of races and belief systems in an attempt to be as representative as we can be. There’s no stronger maxim in marketing than word of mouth, and The House of US is a modern approach to getting the word out to the Gen Z and millennial electorate.”
