25-03-2025
Madison alder wants viral panda suit video to counter flood of negative Supreme Court ads
A contested aldermanic race in the heart of downtown Madison got a boost in attention after the incumbent's ad featuring a panda suit went viral on social media over the weekend.
The fictional panda voter gives an endorsement for Ald. Mike Verveer, who has served on Madison's Common Council since 1995. His district includes neighborhoods near the state Capitol square and Regent Street, areas saturated with college students.
The panda talks about Verveer's efforts to build affordable housing, create public parks and bring Amtrak service to Madison. The panda's face even illuminates when he flicks a lighter, saying Verveer has fought to decriminalize marijuana.
The ad, called "Pandamonium," was an idea among Verveer's campaign team to counter the flood of outside money and negative ads in the state Supreme Court race with some lighthearted humor.
"If we had a traditional ad, this wouldn't be noticed. It wouldn't be a good investment," Verveer told the Journal Sentinel. Humor would "discourage people from hitting that omnipresent 'skip' button and maybe watch for the full 30 seconds."
Where did they get a panda suit? A friend in Madison happened to have it in her closet, Verveer said. Two University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduates played the part, switching out of the uncomfortable suit during a long day of filming in snowy, cold weather.
Meta's ad library indicates the ad has been seen up to 7,000 times, mostly by voters between ages 18 and 34, since it started running Thursday.
Verveer faces an opponent in the April 1 race — Eli Tsarovsky, a UW-Madison graduate student and community organizer. In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Tsarovsky said he respects Verveer and his record but argued voters are looking for new leadership.
Verveer's campaign ad has made the rounds on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. It was initially tweeted by Andrew Arenge, director of operations at the University of Pennsylvania's Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies.
"I'm kind of obsessed with a local politician in Wisconsin using a guy dressed in a panda costume to provide a testimonial in this political ad," Arenge wrote.
Organizer Memes, a popular X account that posts political memes and trains left-leaning groups how to use memes, picked up on Verveer's ad. In a reply and retweet, the account said "game recognize game" and "I approve this message lol."
Gen Z voters have long used memes to engage with or comment on politics. Last summer, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris became the subject of online memes about coconut trees and Charli XCX's "Brat" album.
More: Inside 'Hotties for Harris,' the Gen Z-led DNC afterparty
More: These influencers are helping the Republican National Convention reach the youth vote
UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said hyperlocal campaigns typically don't make video ads because they're expensive. But editing software has become easier to use, and videos can be produced even with minimal campaign funds.
"An ad that has some rough edges and lack of polish might actually attract more attention than others because it stands out from the slick videos produced for higher-level offices. A quirky video can get circulation on social media that is basically free," Burden told the Journal Sentinel by email.
Organizer Memes agrees. Half the battle is getting noticed, the anonymous account told the Journal Sentinel in a direct message. If candidates reach the less political parts of the internet, they hit voters at the margins.
"The low-budget, authentic, (kind of) absurdist vibe works well online. Stunts can be really hit or miss depending on how genuine, funny or cringe they are," Organizer Memes said. "Meme politics is effective when it breaks through the noise."
Organizer Memes' profile photo is, coincidentally, also a panda — they needed to stay anonymous when asked to speak in-person at the North Carolina Young Democrats Convention.
"I randomly had a panda head I stole from an ex-friend's little sister's bat mitzvah. The internet is truly random," they said.
The ad's quirkiness reflects a broader theme of the race — Verveer's efforts to reach young voters as he faces a progressive challenger in Tsarovsky.
"A longtime incumbent in downtown Madison is being challenged by a younger opponent who has connections to the UW-Madison student body," Burden said. "An irreverent ad is one way for Verveer to tout his work on the city council while also trying to demonstrate that he is in touch with youth culture."
In 2023, Verveer faced another progressive opponent and UW-Madison student, Maxwell Laubenstein. Verveer won by a seven-point margin, but that only represents about 300 votes. It was the first time he faced an opponent since 1999.
Tsarovsky said voters he's met while door-knocking see the panda ad as unserious and doesn't meet concerns students face, like the rising cost of living and uncertainty during the second Trump administration.
Verveer noted he's done more serious, traditional communications like mailers and campaign literature. His district also includes many seniors, who are more likely to check what's in their mailbox. Digitial advertising, a first for Verveer, was a way of "reaching a cross section of all voters."
One of the biggest issues affecting young voters in the district is affordable housing. Tsarovsky disagreed with Verveer's 2023 vote against zoning changes to a vacant parking lot downtown that would have increased the height of potential apartment developments.
Verveer explained he voted no because he sponsored an earlier ordinance that allowed developers to exceed the city's height limit to preserve views of the Capitol — in exchange for guaranteeing affordable apartment units, a provision the 2023 proposal didn't include.
"I didn't think we should sell out and concede at such an early stage," he said.
Tsarovsky, who has a background in public health, has also focused his campaign on issues like PFAS contamination in Lake Monona, pedestrian safety and homelessness.
"I respect my opponent and his work. I just think, after 30 years, it's time for new leadership and a serious approach to better connect with the concerns of the people downtown," he said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Madison alder Mike Verveer's panda suit campaign ad is going viral
