The (Best) Worse Negative Political Campaigns

Today as I watched television, I endured a large amount of negative political advertising. Most of the negativity was aimed at political opponents and/or issues that I will be voting for on November 4th (will that day please come already). One thing struck me as odd, why do politicians continue to utilize negative campaigning? This type of campaigning, has been proven very effective especially when the attacker is weaker (or has less to offer) than the victim.

This got me to thinking, what are the worst negative political campaigns of all-time?

The Daisy Ad

The has to be one of the most chilling negative campaigns (considering the times) ever. Lyndon Johnson was able to pander fear in order to defeat Barry Goldwater in 1964

This has to be the most effective ad ever. With the rise of the Soviet Union at the time, this was a realistic fear which scared people into voting.

John McCain’s Black baby

Shortly after John McCain beat George Bush in the 2000 Republican primary in New Hampshire, a whisper campaign was started in South Carolina. The campaign was spread via a phony poll that asked Republican voters “Whether or not they would vote for McCain if he fathered a illegitmate Black child.” The simple accusation was enough to turn the tide and power a Bush win in South Carolina, and eventually, the Republican nomination.

McCain’s whisper campaign against Barack Obama most likely got it roots from this event. The Bush administration honed in on McCain’s dark-skinned adopted child to plant the seed of doubt in voters minds. One of many instances were race has been used to discredit someone.

The Willie Horton ad

George Bush Sr invoked this commercial to defeat Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election.  It helped power Dukakis defeat as many envisioned him as soft on crime.

This was an effective use of many Americans worse nightmare, the Black felon. Like the daisy ad, this preys on Americans inner most fear, that of insecurity. Associating this fear with a candidate helped dismantle the credibility that Dukakis had built. Would this ad had been effective if the individual was another race? It played on stereotypes, and people instantly made the connection.

Swift Boat

After 2004′s presidential election, negative attacks earned a new name “Swift Boating”. Kerry’s military service was attacked and he was accused of being unpatriotic. Many people believe this is what powered Bush Jr into his second term.

Overall, the campaign was effective because it discredited Kerry’s ability to handle the war in Iraq, at least to the common man. He was seen as a traitor, and some one that the American people could not trust.

Hopefully, in the next two weeks neither presidential canadidate will resort to negative campaign to bolster their chances of winning. What about taking a page from product/service advertising? I truly believe that people want messages of hope, not fear. The daisy ad, in my opinion was the (best) worse political ad because it connected with people’s innermost fears, harm upon our children. Now take the poll and tell me what you think!

Captain Morgan is Running for President

By now, most of American knows that Barack Obama, John McCain, and a slew of others are running for the presidency of the United States. Did you know, however, that Captain Morgan is running for President? Yes, this is Captain Morgan’s second time running for president (his first wasn’t that successful). According to Susan Gunelius’ blog, Brand Curve – Captain Morgan launched a new social media marketing campaign on August 22nd. The campaign includes content with social media heavyweights YouTube and Facebook. According to the Captain’s Facebook page, his interests include Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. What type of music does he like? LOUD. What is his solution for the economy? Two day workweeks (hmmm, that just might work). In a nutshell, Captain Morgan is doing his all to strengthen his brand image.

Captain Morgan’s parent company, Diageo, is the official wine and spirits company of the Republican National Convention and the preferred wine and spirits company of the Democratic National Convention according to Ad Age. The marketing campaign includes a costumed Captain Morgan who is making appearances at bars near both convention sites.

Overall, I think the campaign is fun and fresh. It definitely speaks volumes about the Captain Morgan brand. Here is what I think about the marketing campaign:

Value Proposition – Let’s see, Captain Morgan’s is fun. That is the only value proposition that I gather from this marketing campaign, and to be honest I guess that is what they are trying to project. It would be interesting to see Captain Morgan debating versus the other less fun spirits. It would coincide with real Presidential debate, and if position correctly, could be great for late night TV. Who can argue with two day work weeks?

Differentiation - With the reemergence of pirates in popular culture, a pirate, in and of itself is not hardly different. Captain Morgan, however, is very interesting. Bringing the Captain to life will help potential consumers connect fun and crazy with it’s brand. How about some “negative” ads about Captain Morgan? What if Captain Morgan had a scandal? These are a few ways that the brand managers could build on Captain Morgan’s differentiation. If does in fact speard well, it will go a long way to building the brand and awareness about the product.

Marketability – Most people in the target market might consider this cool, but why should they care? To extend this campaign the brand should try promotions to really drive home the point of the Captain Morgan brand. Why not have a contest or promotion via YouTube for Captain Morgan to pick a running mate? Not only would people like to be on YouTube, but they would quickly forward their video to family and friends as well.

Overall, I believe that the person (or people) that came up with this campaign have a really good idea. Although the campaign has not been a viral marketing star (only 300 supporters on Facebook, 6,500 views on YouTube) it has the ground work to really pick up, if they tweak it just a little bit. It is an interesting strategy to build brand awareness, especially for a product that has strong following. Check out Captain Morgan on YouTube:

Wal-Mart is Changing It’s Logo, So What!?

The people at Wal-Mart (now Walmart) can either be considered as geniuses or plum crazy. Depending on your perspective, the new logo for Walmart could signal a more focused brand image for the huge retailer. According to the Wall Street Journal, Walmart is rebranding itself as a wide spread strategy to shed it’s old image.

The logo has gone through numerous changes since it’s humble beginnings. Check out the history as found on Brand New.

Most people might see this change as overkill, but in my opinion it makes a lot of sense for the retail giant to continue it’s dominance for two reasons strategic leadership and differentiation.

Strategic Leadership

One of Walmart’s major competitors, Target, has done a very good job branding the company as of late. The famous bull-eye and bold red color have done wonders to separate the Target brand from other major retailers. The redesign of stores offers discount prices in a more “upscale” store setting. This has been a weakness for Walmart for a while. Many people do enjoy Walmart’s low prices, but what else does Walmart actually offer customers? Poor customer service, low quality products, and HUGE stores. The logo change could be the beginning of a more focused Walmart. While the store will probably offer the same superstores, the new Walmart logo could be applied more widely. I can see it already, the Walmart “sunbrust” on newly brand smaller supermarkets or pet stores. Creating a master brand could make it easier for Walmart to strategically put it’s stamp on other business ventures.

Differentiation

The new logo is different and the color are much more vibrant. Have you ever seen blue and thought Walmart? With the new color scheme and symbol, over time you just connect similar imagery to Walmart. Once again, this is something that Target has done very well with it’s red visuals and bulls-eye. Arguably, the new design is something that is a little different from what you will see from other companies. I was in a Walmart store tonight, and I am already starting to see the Walmart “sunburst” throughout the store.

Overall, the logo change is probably a little bit late considering Target’s re-branding efforts. Walmart, however, will soon be able to use it’s “sunburst” for strategic leadership and differentiation. With the wealth of resources that Walmart has at it’s disposal, it will be a matter of time before people begin to recognize the “sunburst” with Walmart the new and improved branding effort. While the jury is still out on the “sunburst” as the symbol, its a welcome start to secure dominance in the ever changing market place.

Does the Army Have A Good Brand?

After watching the US Army’s latest commercial I began to think, “How good is the US Army brand?” This is very hard to put your finger on. For many reasons, the idea of the US Army varies greatly in the minds of people across the world. In a recent debate on BrandChannel most people believe that improving the Army brand is almost impossible. Most people understand Marines as commandos, Navy as seamen, Air Force with pilots, and the Coast Guard protects our Coast, what about the Army? Most people probably think of the Army as the military in the most broad sense. The Army commercial talks about strong vs. Army Strong. This is not a very good brand in my opinion. The key elements of a good brand; value proposition and differentiation are missing. Here are a few tips in making the Army brand better.

Why Army?

The Army strong tagline is nice, I admit it even sounds cool, but does it get anywhere towards what the Army has to offer? The US Army is strong, just like the hundreds of other organizations out there, but strength is not the value of the Army. What does the Army do, that no other organization can? Keep America safe in every realm. Possibly the US Army should consider advertisements that are less “hero” and more realistic and in your face. I know some of the most powerful stuff I have seen have been through email forwards that show the everyday life of troops abroad with a message of peace and freedom. Unfortunately, the Army does not use its advertisements to build its brand.

Okay, we have seen this before

The Army has done very little to differentiate itself from other organizations. There is nothing that separates stands out in one’s mind about the Army. The Navy has boats. The Air Force has planes. The Marines have swords and cool uniforms. What about the Army? There is very little that separates this organization. They must begin to separate themselves. Instead of the cliché brand, what about something a little different. What about more imagery of identifiable Army veterans? How about more movies about Army groups such as the Special Forces or Airborne soldiers? By emphaizing its uniqueness, the Army can help improve its brand.

Solution

If the Pentagon knocked on my door tomorrow to head up a marketing campaign for the military, I would try connect with the people that would be most moved, Generation Y. Unlike the generations of the past, they are not as moved by heroes. To the young heroes are on the movie screen or football field. Army and heroes do not go hand in hand (unfortunately) like it has in times past. Today the Army must focus on tugging on the emotional strings with a more gritty, controversial campaign. It could even go as far to have its soldiers profiled more often in real situations. Consider the popularity of reality TV, why can’t this be duplicated and used by the Army? Reaching out to the youngest generation could start a wave that can reverse most people’s gut feeling about one of the oldest American organizations.

Check out what others have to say about the Army brand on BrandChannel.

Video: Controversial United Way Marketing Campaign!?

The United Way is committed to working to advance the common good of Americans by focusing on education, income, and health. As a State Auto Insurance employee, I have been involved with promoting and raising money for this organization for a number of years. Last year, however, United Way’s Milwaukee branch advanced what some thought was a controversial ad. The campaign was nearly halted by board members and other local leaders due to its difficult message. View the ad below and decide for yourself if the ad is controversial and how it may appeal to you.

Was this campaign effective?

Value Proposition

The imagery and music appeals to the inner man with use of the Hurricane Katrina example. Every American is familiar with that disaster, and using it to exploit the problems in Milwaukee are exemplified. This promotes the value of investing with United Way, and ultimately the community at large. While the United Way is not selling a product, they are selling hope and the combination of the frightening Katrina spot and positive follow up provides an excellent incentive for people to volunteer and/or donate.

Differentiation

This campaign differs for most other United Way marketing efforts. It reaches out by exposing the ugliness of its own community. While Hurricane Katrina will forever be remember as one of the worse diasters in America history, it sheds light on an oft overlooked problem in one’s on backyard. This differentiation separates it from messages of hope that have usually been the focus.

Marketibility

The campaign does an excellent job at reaching its target market, you and I. It sells hope in a way that will capture your attention. No one wants there community to fail, and Milwaukee donated more money than all but one community after 9/11. The “negative” ad, which was followed by one of hope was very well placed.

My Assessment

Milwaukee’s United Way did an excellent job delivering its message to make the world a better place, but still feel short of it’s goal by $3.5 million dollars. For such an excellent campaign, what went wrong. If I were the one running this marketing campaign, I would have pursued the same route with a few minor tweaks.

• Media outlets – I can’t find enough on the web about this latest campaign. Using social media (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and blogs) the campaign could have achieved the considerable results. Consider how quickly social media persuaded many in the case of the Jena Six. The message was accelerated with social media and without the support of a formal marketing campaign, people joined to raise over $500,000. By utilizing word of mouth techniques, the important message would grow at a exponential rate.
• Email Marketing – I am unsure whether or not there was an accompanying email marketing campaign. This, however, would have made a huge difference as a supplement to the social media. Sending periodic updates, with supporting video via email could have captured the benefits of the controversial ad.

Overall, the United Way is doing an excellent job at raising money for those services that we need the most. I anticipate the organizations newest marketing campaign Live United with great interest. I encourage you to donate your time or money in helping this organization succeed.

Donate Money to Your Local Chapter

Donate Your Time

Friends…How Many of Us Have Them?

We all have friends, right? How many of those people are friends that you can depend on? Yesterday, one of my dependable friends got a face lift and is now looking better than ever. You can see this friend here.

Amongst all of the qualities that you look for in a friend, dependability ranks at the top in my opinion.

Thank you for being a friend…

An Interesting Ad…

Isn’t this just a beautiful ad? It extends the Nationwide tag, while providing great elements that would draw a reader in. Found this on Ads of the World blog. Yesterday, I confirmed that this is in fact real! No photoshop! No visual enhancement! The cars are in the parking lot covered with paint. This can be found in Columbus, Ohio near High Street and Spring Street. Very interesting indeed!