Joe Biden youth ad features North Florida native, Tallahassee scenes

To avoid the fate that befell Hillary Clinton in 2016, the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee is trying to turn out the youth vote.

The hopes are that the enthusiasm gap that hit Clinton, who was up in polls to the end, doesn’t hit this year.

The Joe Biden/Kamala Harris campaign hopes a North Florida native can help them make the case that the youth vote matters and there is a real difference between what they would offer and what the current administration has done.

A new ad features Duke University student Adrianna Williams discussing activism, including protests in Tallahassee that are, she says, about a number of long-standing issues of equity and fairness.

“These protests are not just about police brutality. They’re about addressing systemic racism and economic disparities across our country,” Williams said in the ad. “Electing Joe Biden is essential to addressing these issues and getting meaningful change.” 

“Black lives should more than just matter,” Williams said.

She described her own history in activism, saying it was her obligation to be involved in protests, but that voting for Biden was a must.

The “Adriana” spot, which was released in both 30-second and one-minute versions, was not the only new launch from the Biden campaign, however.

They also dropped “Everybody Votes,” an attempt to engage the youth cohort with a hip-hop track described as a “message from #TheNewAdministration.”

The tune, released in a 30-second version only for now, featured zippy couplets over an up-tempo staccato rhythm.

“They’ve worked too hard, too long. It’s time for us to right these wrongs,” the rapper intoned raspily. “If you want to see some change, say the action starts with me.”

The ads debuted Sunday night on MTV during the Video Music Awards, a functional callback to voters of a previous generation to “rock the vote.”