In a Democratic political field still stuffed with increasingly popular candidates, how was latecomer Michael Bloomberg going to establish himself? He’s not rallying on behalf of Medicare for All; he doesn’t “have a plan for that”; he isn’t even the only billionaire in the race. So who is he, exactly?

Bloomberg’s campaign offered a somewhat unorthodox response to that question this week with a newly launched meme campaign set in the DMs of high-volume Instagram accounts. The format is simple: Bloomberg, or more likely some unlucky comms staffer, reaches out to the likes of often-viral Instagram accounts @kaleSalad and @tank.sinatra via direct message, asking them to make him “look cool for the upcoming Democratic primary” or give their opinion on his memes.

It’s a stranger-than-fiction move for Bloomberg, who, having overseen the NYPD’s use of stop-and-frisk (which disproportionately affected young people of color), isn’t necessarily the obvious choice for the youth vote. What he might be realizing, though, is something the Sanders and Warren campaigns have already figured out: The youth vote matters in 2020.

As odd as it may sound, courting the Instagram vote isn't necessarily a toothless political strategy. Some 37% of American adults use Instagram, and cheeky yet not-to-be-underestimated movements like Hot Girls for Bernie are gaining significant traction online. If Facebook was the defining social media platform of the 2016 election, could Instagram come to the fore in the 2020 race?

That seems to be what the Bloomberg campaign is betting on, with spokesperson Sabrina Singh telling BuzzFeed News, “Mike Bloomberg 2020 has teamed up with social creators to collaborate with the campaign, including the meme world. While a meme strategy may be new to presidential politics, we’re betting it will be an effective component to reach people where they are and compete with President Trump’s powerful digital operation.”

When a candidate like Bloomberg wades knee-deep into funny-Instagram culture, though, they risk hitting the third rail of modern politics: irrelevancy. This campaign was likely dreamed up to give Bloomberg a patina of relatability, but what could be less relatable than using your vast wealth to convince the internet—the one remaining bastion of those who are idea rich and cash poor—to like you?

Then there are also the stumbling blocks; one of the Instagram accounts that shared a Bloomberg meme, @fuckjerry, has previously come under fire for stealing jokes. A true internet aesthete might think about approaching an account like [@chillwildlife] instead(https://www.instagram.com/chillwildlife/); now there’s a unique Instagram account with a devoted audience.