#YesWeCan

The campaign slogan that became a global rallying cry for hope and change.

Quick Facts

Origin Story

“Yes We Can” became Barack Obama’s defining campaign phrase after his January 2008 New Hampshire primary speech. Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas turned the speech into a viral music video featuring celebrities, which garnered 30 million YouTube views — an astronomical number for 2008. #YesWeCan became the hashtag embodiment of the Obama campaign’s optimism. It was tweeted millions of times through the 2008 election and inauguration, becoming the most iconic political hashtag of its era.

Cultural Impact

#YesWeCan demonstrated the power of combining a simple message with social media virality. The phrase transcended politics — it became a cultural shorthand for optimism and collective action. International movements adopted translations (Spain’s “Sí, se puede” predated it as a farmworker slogan). The hashtag showed campaigns that slogans needed to be hashtag-friendly — short, positive, and shareable. Every subsequent campaign slogan (#ImWithHer, #MAGA, #BuildBackBetter) was designed with hashtag virality in mind.

Related Hashtags

• #Obama - Candidate
• #Obama2008 - Campaign
• #Change - Campaign theme
• #Hope - Campaign theme
• #Inaug09 - Victory moment

References

• Wikipedia: Yes We Can (will.i.am song))
• Obama campaign’s social media strategy - Harvard Kennedy School
• Yes We Can video - YouTube

Last updated: February 2026