Kamala Harris Ad Featuring ‘Think’ Debuts With Aretha Franklin Estate’s Blessing
Aretha Franklin’s estate seems to “think” the Queen of Soul would have been a Kamala Harris supporter.
In a new campaign ad, the Democratic presidential candidate talks about the “full-on attack on hard-fought freedoms,” as Aretha Franklin’s 1968 classic “Think” plays in the background. As Harris reminds voters of freedoms achieved over the decades over historic footage, including the right to vote for Black Americans and women, as well as a woman’s right to “make decisions about her own body,” the song’s “Freedom” refrain plays.
More from Billboard
Billboard has learned that Franklin’s estate reached out to the Harris campaign after Harris expressed her love for Franklin at the Democratic National Convention. The estate made her music available and specifically suggested “Think” as a good option. The campaign fully embraced the idea for the get-out-the-vote ad, which is running on YouTube and other online outlets, as well as connected TV/premium streaming services.
“The estate is very careful about how her songs are used so it’s not something they would normally do,” says attorney Michael Sukin, who works with the Franklin estate. “But [her] children felt this is really an important moment and they wanted us to contact the estate.” The estate waived any fees for the usage.
The estate was also involved in suggesting ideas for the creative content. “The family wanted the civil rights images to be in there. That was the idea that we expressed to the campaign, the connection to civil rights,” Sukin says. “It’s so meaningful in their history. [The campaign] coordinated with us completely. There was a lot of back and forth. They were really great. They were very, very responsive. They got the idea right away and they ran with it.” Rhino owns the rights to the sound recording heard in the ad. Billboard has reached out about its usage.
Franklin supported Democrats for decades, including performing the national anthem at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. She sang a majestic version of “My Country, Tis of Thee” at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in 2009. She also sang at a farewell event for Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, in 2015.
When Franklin died in 2018, Obama released a statement that read in part, “Aretha’s work reflected the very best of our American story – in all of its hope and heart, its boldness and its unmistakable beauty.”
While the Harris ad uses “Think,” which Franklin and her ex-husband, Ted White, co-wrote, her signature song, “Respect,” also played a vital role in the civil rights movement in the ‘60s. In her autobiography she wrote of the song that it spoke to “the need of the average man and woman in the street, the businessman, the mother, the fireman, the teacher — everyone wanted respect…It was also one of the battle cries of the civil rights movement. The song took on monumental significance.” Franklin also sang at Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral and her father, minister and civil rights activist C.L. Franklin, and King were close.
Best of Billboard
Sign up for Billboard's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
