I don’t normally let out a genuine giggle when watching political advertisements. That changed with Nithya Raman.

Raman, a city councilmember for Los Angeles’ 4th District, is challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in this November’s mayoral election.

While both candidates have used social media to support their campaigns, Nithya Raman has released a series of microdramas. These Instagram reels range from parodies of “The Pitt” and “Heated Rivalry” to comedic bits about public transportation.

These short videos, which use comedy and reference popular culture, could be the key to young voters’ hearts.

Raman and Bass are both Democrats with fairly similar platforms. Each candidate is therefore differentiating themselves through various campaign and political strategies, said Georgia Kernell, an associate professor of communication and political science.

Liz Garcia, the spokesperson for Raman’s campaign, said in a written statement that microdramas are meant to meet Angelenos where they are: in online communities.

“The main goal of the ads is to present Nithya’s vision for the city in a unique way,” Garcia said in the statement. “For example, the Pitt spoof we did called out corporations and special interests spending against Nithya and made it clear that Nithya doesn’t take corporate money — because big money shouldn’t be deciding how a mayor spends their time.”

Microdramas target young voters, a group that votes than every other age group. Young voters also have very different strategies of learning about politics than older generations. More than three quarters of adults aged 18 to 29 sometimes or often get their news from social media, according to a 2025 study from the Pew Research Center.

Candidates are learning that using social media is a necessity, not a strategy that comes second to the rest of their campaigns.

A focus on social media proved successful for Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in New York City. Adam Peddie, the external vice president of the Bruin Democrats, said Raman has taken a similar approach.

“His stuff went crazy viral across the entire country,” said Peddie, a fourth-year history student. “Young, progressive-minded people were tuning in and wishing that a candidate like that would come to their city.”

Raman seems to fit that bill. A parody of 2000s comedy “Mean Girls” boosted Raman’s follower count more than almost any other social content, Garcia said in the statement.

“Young voters will actually watch Raman’s ads because they are provocative, interesting, funny, feature young actors and are just really original,” said Kernell, who teaches Communication 195DB – a class exclusively open to Daily Bruin staffers.

With that said, an obvious tradeoff that comes with these advertisements is that they target a relatively slim voting population: young voters.

Kernell added, though, that not all ads need to resonate with everyone.

“Getting somebody to watch an ad is more than half of the battle,” Kernell said.

And even if not all voters relate to the microdramas, they make Raman’s name known to the public – an important strategy when running against an established candidate like Bass.

This column is not meant to endorse either candidate. It’s simply important to acknowledge that candidates must meet Angelenos, especially young ones, where they are.

Capturing this demographic might be the ticket to success – the candidates are currently deadlocked, with the support of about 40% of LA voters each, according to an Oct. 28 UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the LA Times. But despite the tie among all LA voters, there is a pronounced difference when narrowed to voters aged 18 to 29: Raman has 69% of that demographic, while Bass polled at a mere 15%.

Through her microdramas, Raman is making exceptional progress toward securing the vote among young people.