First of all, Congrats to President-Elect Obama who was the winner in a brilliantly marketed campaign. May we all live ong and prosper as a nation, and a world.
Another election has come and gone and it is interesting to see how the various parties and press helped “market” the candidates. Yes marketing of the candidates has always been the most important factor in all elections from the beginning of our great country. But I guess the most important question of this election was:
Just how much did Joe Biden spend on clothes?
A lot of people say that Marketing and Positioning is a late 20th century phenomenon. But think back to past elections, what do these phrases mean to you:
Honest Abe
Old Hickory
Tippecanoe and Tyler Too
A Chicken in Every Pot
I Like Ike
Exactly they were marketing/positioning statements about candidates, and yes they do go back into the 19th century as well. They may not have called it that, but let's face it a rose by any other name would probably harder to spell (or something like that). These of course are some of the more famous ones. They show that even before mass media took over and just inundated us gazillions of ads through radio, TV, billboard and internet messages, the parties and candidates were marketing and positioning themselves.
In short nothing has changed, except the technology we use. But then if the media would admit that, they would have a zillion hours of empty air, instead of empty talk from empty heads. Just think what they would have to do, maybe focus on real issues and differences instead of marketing messages? Oh no that would require thought and research and intelligence.
CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, FOX could not have that , and newspapers wouldn't be able to sling their mud. They wouldn't be able to frame editorials about negative campaigning with negative ads that keep them profitable. I mean if the different media really wanted to cut down on negative campaigning, why do they keep accepting the ads? Money of course, and it brings in viewers/listeners/readers.
Why do the candidates do it? Well most issues are too complicated to get across in 30-60 seconds, so they need to focus on small differences. When the issues and stands are so clouded that he candidates basically agree, well point out the other's mistakes. It is easy and it tends to get more “free air” from the complaining talking heads on TV etc. Every station reports about the ineffectiveness of negative ads, but when people are interviewed on the street, they seem to repeat the negative information about the candidates they are against. So guess what, it does work and it obviously resonates with viewers.
Let's face it the media pounded it down our throats that Sarah Palin received $150,000 worth of clothes from the RNC (hence the question at the beginning of the article). Plus we heard all about her views on everything from religion to what she thinks of her ex-brother-in-law. But why didn't we hear anything about Joe Biden's religious views? Why not his views on family or sports or anything? It has to do with the marketing done by the Democratic Party who made this a contest between Palin and Obama, and the left leaning media bit and ran with it (anyone who denies this is a liar and a scoundrel and a hypocrite, or just a brain dead moron.). Let's face it the average viewer had a hard time finding anything about what any of the candidates really felt about how to fix the problems this country is facing ( of course they all are against economic breakdown, and high energy prices), because the media was marketing Palin's views, and positioning them as “wacky, and bizarre”, and marketing Obama as “Change” (news flash, anyone of the candidates were agents of change as none of them totally agreed with Bush).
So remember the issues don't matter, all that matters is how you position and market yourself (or your candidate) to the potential viewers, and oh yea negative advertising does work.
Mahalo.
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