A report today from Synovate likens the two US Presidential candidates to brands. Being very interested in brands in the traditional / non-political sense, this was of real interest. Synovate relate Obama’s focus on issues that are close to the hearts of the public - education, healthcare and economics – to Nokia’s ‘You, You, You’ approach. Whilst McCain set’s his stall out based on his own interests - war and Iraq – which is more similar to Apple’s ‘you come to me’ approach. Not the brands that I would immediately attach to the two candidates but it’s an interesting observation.
Entries from October 2008
It’s Nokia v.s Apple
October 31, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Categories: US Presidential 2008
Tagged: apple, brand, election, mccain, nokia, obama, politcal advertising
Using their strength against them
October 31, 2008 · Leave a Comment
In this spot we see McCain using footage of an Obama speech that praises the Republican candidate’s work on a piece of environmental legislation. The Republican campaign’s attempt to use the fact that people believe and trust in Obama to their benefit, by pointing out that he has ONCE thought McCain has done something correct, is a truly bizarre strategy. It comes accross like McCain is eager to seek the praise of his superior. A truly terrible advert.
Categories: US Presidential 2008
Tagged: environment, legislation, McCain advert, obama, political advertising
Waaasssuuuppp!
October 30, 2008 · 1 Comment
I appreciate this blog is getting fairly Obama heavy, but I just couldn’t ignore this one. A spoof on the brilliant Budweiser ‘True’ (2000) campaign, we see the guys from the Bud advert 8 years later (i.e after 8 years of Republican government). A brilliant viral for attracting the young, urban electorate. If there were as many virals coming out that got to the rural and socially conservative with same accuracy, Obama’s campaign could tell the chubby lady in the wings to put down the bargain bucket and start warbling.
Categories: US Presidential 2008
Tagged: Bud, Budweiser, obama, political advertising, True
Obama’s 30 Minute Advert
October 30, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Here in full, the Barack Obama 30 minute informercial that screened across three national broadcast channels last night. It features the stories of four middle-class Americans and is almost entirely focused on the economic challenges that face the US. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, of ‘Inconvenient Truth’ fame, it uses a combination of a sentimental narratives and hard hitting political documentary.
Running an advert this long during prime viewing time is not without risks: accusations of hubris, boring the electorate, interfering with regular programming, amongst others. Overall, I think the programme was successful in its’ aim to show the electorate exactly who Barack Obama is and what he stands for.
Categories: US Presidential 2008
Tagged: obama 30 minute, politcal advertising
Measuring the Hype
October 29, 2008 · Leave a Comment
How does your candidate / brand measure up online?
Measuring the success of one’s campaign is, obviously, rather an important aspect of advertising. A company called MotiveQuest has developed a way of measuring the online chatter surrounding a brand – they’ve dubbed it their ‘Online Promoter Score’. As a showcase for their measuring technique, they’ve developed a microsite to predict the outcome of the US Presidential election.
Using the websphere to develop hype around one’s brand is a key facet to a successful campaign. Having someone to measure your online buzz and suggest ways to improve it, is an absolute ‘must’ for any brand hoping to cut it these days.
Categories: US Presidential 2008
Tagged: brand advocacy, effectiveness, motive quest, online promoter
Vote Hour
October 29, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Google have recruited a host of high powered CEO’s to encourage their employees to take an hour out of their working day to go and vote. The idea behind the spot is that the #1 reason people gave in the last US election for not voting was a lack of time.
It’s (unsurprisingly…) well put together and it’s brilliant that these huge corporate organisations are being proactive in encouraging democracy. However, if there is a massive turnout for this election it won’t be down to this, or various other, ‘get the vote out’ campaigns. What leads to high turnout is a civically engaged population, educated in the issues facing them, inspired by a political message and given a clear choice at election time. The vehicles for ensuring such circumstances are active and funded political parties. Still, things like this can’t hurt.
Categories: US Presidential 2008
Tagged: google, mccain, obama, politcal advertising, vote hour
Terry Tate v Sarah Palin
October 28, 2008 · 1 Comment
A fantastic ‘get out the vote’ advert. It’s an extension of the Reebok campaign which used Terry Tate as a brand ambassador.
Categories: US Presidential 2008
Tagged: political advertising, Reebok, Sarah Palin, Terry Tate
The Great Schlep
October 28, 2008 · Leave a Comment
This is absolutely hilarious. The momentum that Obama’s campaign has generated is unbelievable. There seems to be a never-ending amount of material emerging, quite independent from the official Obama campaign. However, reaching and influencing the audience that this spot is aimed at is incredibly difficult and I wonder whether having one’s grandchildren call up and condescend to you about politics is going to benefit the Obama campaign with this demographic. In the same breath, a nagging relative can be pretty convincing…
Categories: US Presidential 2008
Tagged: election, obama, political advertising, Sarah Silverman, The Great Schlep
7-Election
October 28, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Picked up on this brilliant attempt by 7-Eleven to cash in the US Presidential Election on ‘Boy meets digital world’.
Coffee drinkers at 7-Elevens across America are casting their vote. Participants choose one of the two election coffee cups depending on their political preferences. The votes are being recorded and results of the favoured presidential candidate appear in USA Today as well as being tracked on the website. According to the site the 7-eleven voters have successfully predicted the result of the last two presidential elections.
Categories: US Presidential 2008
Tagged: 7-Election, 7-eleven, coffee, election, mccain, obama, president
Setting the Standard
October 28, 2008 · Leave a Comment
The iconic piece of political advertising
For my debut post on this blog I thought I’d post THE iconic piece of political advertising. Produced by Saatchi&Saatchi and credited to Tim (now Lord) Bell. The simplicity with which the poster attributed the blame of high levels of unemployment to the Labour government of the time is astounding. It worked because it was not overly aggressive and yet delivered a devastating blow on the record of the government. Too many ‘attack’ adverts in their aggression alienate the electorate, rather than influence them.
Categories: Conservative Party UK
Tagged: 1979, conservative party, labour isn't working, political advertising, saatchi, thatcher
