Via an unholy daisy chain of links from about 80 people, we findthis:
Watching Obamamania unfold over the last few days, I have gradually come to the realization that we are living through the first Presidential campaign that is being marketed like a high-end consumer brand.
The logo itself is a good jumping off point. The typical Presidential campaign logo usually features some variant of the stars and stripes. Beyond patriotism, they have no message. They are pretty much interchangeable between Republicans and Democrats.
Obama’s logo rearranges these patriotic elements into an emblem that distills his message to the core: the hope of the sun rising [or, Republicans, is it setting?] over amber waves of grain, with the novelty of the candidate’s unusual last name reinforced in an “O”. Unlike virtually every political logo in history, this one doesn’t shy away from the glows and gradients meant to give modern corporate logos realism and depth. And like good corporate logos, this logomark can be disaggregated from the candidate’s name, in the same way that the swoosh instantly screams “Nike” or the circular logos of BMW and Mercedes spark instant associations with affluence and prestige.
Emphasis mine, because, the first? Really?
Branding:
Branding:
“Flip-Flops or Boots?” asks one.
“Remember: It’s Your Money.”
“One Nation Under God.”
On a cadet blue background, bright as the October sky, a single sentence shares space with the “Bush/Cheney” icon – names silhouetted in a red, white and blue shooting star – or laser-guided bomb, depending on your point of view.
Ruffini’s point about a “high-end” brand being Obama’s claim to fame may be true. Between those signs and that Toby Keith song and all the Purple Heart band-aids, Brand Bush certainly wasn’t anything you’d want to put out on the table for company.
A.