Zohran Mamdani’s sudden win because the Democratic nominee in New York’s mayoral main shocked the political institution. It additionally shocked the scrappy workforce of filmmakers behind his viral marketing campaign movies.
The company driving the inventive cost isn’t a standard political consultancy however a small, Brooklyn-based collective that operates extra like a guerrilla manufacturing studio than a buttoned-up agency: Melted Solids. Based in 2019 by Debbie Saslaw and Anthony DiMieri, the company’s solely full-time staffers, Melted Solids goals to mix sharp storytelling with humor, a powerful social media presence, and a deal with capturing real, relatable moments.
Saslaw advised ADWEEK that Melted Studio’s course of on Mamdani’s marketing campaign was collaborative and infrequently chaotic. A workforce of pros—together with communications director Andrew Epstein, videographer Donald Borenstein and Kara McCurdy, Mamdani’s marketing campaign photographer since 2020—contributed to the marketing campaign. Mamdani’s spouse, Rama, additionally created animations for a number of viral movies.
“The idea was: ‘Who do we all know that has unimaginable digicam gear, is an expert audio mixer, and actually desires to do one thing politically?’” DiMieri mentioned. “It’s good to make use of these abilities for one thing you care about.”
Amplifying on a regular basis voices
Melted Solids has been working with Mamdani for the final 5 years, together with initiatives just like the “Repair the MTA” marketing campaign of 2022, which featured Mamdani using buses with commuters to focus on the challenges of on a regular basis New Yorkers. The marketing campaign additionally proposed phasing out bus fares over 4 years.
Main as much as the 2025 main, the marketing campaign comprised a number of viral movies that showcased Mamdani throughout all 5 boroughs. Mamdani plunged into Coney Island waters to advocate for hire freezes. A Valentine’s Day video contained voter registration information hidden inside a field of sweets. One other video documented Mamdani’s interactions on the Puerto Rican Day Parade after receiving AOC’s endorsement.
Its messaging was easy: amplifying the challenges going through on a regular basis, working-class residents.
“I’m [a] marketer and storyteller, and what I assumed was mandatory and wanted within the political house was the power to talk to common New Yorkers, like utilizing promoting… as a vessel to listen to their considerations,” Saslaw advised ADWEEK. “It’s not about Cuomo; it’s not about Adams. They’ve obtained everyone in New York feeling like they will’t reside right here anymore–myself and Anthony included.”
Saslaw and DiMieri each have high-profile backgrounds in media and promoting. Saslaw spent years crafting high-profile campaigns for HBO and Showtime, whereas DiMieri beforehand labored as an editor at companies like Digitas and 72andSunny and on political campaigns for Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.
DiMieri, who additionally co-produces the favored Instagram sequence SubwayTakes that discusses present occasions on the subway, utilized his social media savvy to Mamdani’s marketing campaign. “We needed to make content material that obtained eyeballs, obtained followers, and will win within the social media house,” DiMieri mentioned. “Our content material technique was selection and experimentation. If one thing’s working, we’ll do it as soon as—and if it really works, we’ll do it as a sequence.”
The marketing campaign’s success has helped domesticate real, natural enthusiasm on-line. One X publish cracking, “you may simply tweet ‘Zohran Mamdani’ instantly get 1000 likes,” drew over 17 million views, and sparked tens of 1000’s of reposts as customers examined the declare.
Whereas Melted Solids led the social and video inventive, different corporations formed the marketing campaign as nicely. Struggle, a New York-based inventive company identified for digital-first progressive campaigns, dealt with TV advertisements and contributed to media technique and focusing on. Forge, a Philadelphia-based design co-op based by Aneesh Bhoopathy and Phil Ditzler, crafted Mamdani’s distinctive branding—cobalt blue and marigold yellow, impressed by NYC taxis and Bollywood posters.
In line with DiMieri, Mamdani’s momentum has additionally helped Melted Solids develop from a scrappy two-person store right into a go-to inventive associate for progressive causes. In reality, a number of of the company’s new shoppers got here by means of Mamdani’s community, together with Alliance for Paseo Park, an advocacy group for pedestrian-friendly streets in Jackson Heights; Triage, a student-led local weather motion group; and Jews for Racial and Financial Justice, a bunch Mamdani has labored with for years.
“Working with Zohran has been an actual reward that retains on giving,” he added. “He’s that good of an organizer—he is aware of these individuals.”
Looking forward to the mayoral election in November, Saslaw and DiMieri’s technique stays easy but efficient. “We’re able to actually dispatch videographers throughout New York Metropolis,” Saslaw mentioned. “However the message stays the identical: Let peculiar individuals inform the story.”
Whereas discussing Mamdani’s rival, Andrew Cuomo, DiMieri mentioned, “I really feel like in the event that they’re going to spend $100 million in opposition to him in destructive promoting and making an attempt to make individuals afraid of him… the counter is individuals spending time with him by means of the medium of video and seeing how genuine he truly is.” Cuomo advised the New York Instances that he’s weighing his choices in persevering with to run within the election as an unbiased candidate.
DiMieri added, “And the technique is working.”
