The surprising success of Spencer Pratt‘s campaign to become mayor of Los Angeles is serving as a spotlight on the changing dynamics of political media: TV, radio and traditional media are out, social media virality and clipping are in.
Pratt (who garnered national fame from reality TV and leveraged that into a sizable social media presence) is in a strong position to make the runoff, where he would likely face incumbent Karen Bass in the general election (Nithya Raman is trying to flank Bass from the left). President Trump seemed to endorse Pratt this week, though it is not obvious that would be helpful to his campaign.
But while campaign expenditures from the Bass and Raman campaigns show thousands of dollars in expenses related to TV, radio and print ads, the Pratt campaign appears far more focused on social media, and in particular the phenomenon of “clipping,” taking moments from events and interviews and spreading them far and wide on platforms like TikTok and Reels.
According to the campaign records, earlier this month Pratt’s campaign spent $30,025 on “Clipping Culture LLC” which calls itself “The #1 clipping agency behind viral campaigns” and a client list that includes Yung Gravy, Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga. The campaign also spent $25,000 on Cliphaus Inc., which calls itself “the trusted, leading clipping company distributing content at the largest scale, and helping creators, artists and brands generate billions of views through short-form content, with unrivaled results.” Its clients include Rich the Kid and Atlantic Records.
