by Ella Keeven | Editor | The Daily Anchor
Advertisers are Along for a Smooth Ride on the Coattails of the Obama Brand
I am not talking about t-shirts, mugs or bobble-head dolls. I am referring to some recent not-so-subliminal advertising from the likes of Pepsi, Ikea and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. President Barack Obama’s marketing efforts have been the most influential since JKF used television to get elected in 1960. Obama built a winning brand by focusing on optimism, giving people hope and promising change. Whether you are an Obama supporter or not; you have to admit that President Obama hit it spot-on with his advertising campaign. “Hope,” “Change” and “Yes We Can” have all taken on new meaning. So it should not be surprising that many advertisers are riding the coattails of our warmly welcomed new President to create their own ad campaigns.
Advertisers Selling Their Brand of Change
Pepsi’s new logo takes on a strong resemblance to Obama’s logo. Pepsi says the similarities are not deliberate. But paired with their new ad campaign, there is clearly influence of Obama’s branding campaign. What appears to be much more deliberate are Pepsi’s new commercials. Set to “My Generation” by The Who, you see iconic scenes in history, finally ending with “Every Generation Refreshed the World…Now It‘s Your Turn”. Pepsi has placed themselves right into “Generation Obama” and carried on the message of his campaign. Another new Pepsi commercial directly uses the phrase “Yes We Can” in it’s theme song while also flashing the words “Hope,” “Yes We Can,” “One For All… All For One” as well as other positive nouns and verbs throughout the commercial.
Ice Cream maker Ben & Jerry’s saw an opportunity and churned up “Yes Pecan!”, get it? The flavor is described as “An Inspirational Blend! Amber Waves of Buttery Ice Cream with Roasted Bi-Partisan Pecans”. And doing it’s part to prevent what is partially to blame for last falls financial meltdown, all proceeds from the flavor will go to the Common Cause Education Fund, a non-profit organization committed to honest, open and accountable government.”
Ikea set up their own version of the Oval Office in Washington D.C.’s Union Station as a part of their “Embrace Change” marketing campaign. Go to www.embracechange09.com and you can design your own oval office. According to IKEA, “[President] Obama’s commitment to change and fiscal responsibility is very close to IKEA’s philosophy of practical and affordable furniture.”
So, What is the Message Here?
In a recent CNN news story, Barbara Lippert, ad critic for AdWeek, said “you wouldn’t buy anything unless you had some hope and they’re not going to show a guy saying ‘my car is underwater, and my house, you know, mortgage is falling apart, but I want to have a Pepsi.’ Unfortunately a soda can really can’t change your life or give you hope.” No, and this is kind of the point of an ad campaign… align your product with a certain message trend that relates to consumers.
The message of optimism is what consumers are relating to right now and it is smart for advertisers to capitalize on this. Whether the above is intentional or not, they are finding a piece of their own message and aligning to that of Obama’s message of optimism and hope. And why not? As we delve deeper into this recession, it is hard not to keep your chin up. It is remarkable the impact Obama has had by influencing a culture so much that his marketing campaign has created a trend that major advertisers are using to reach their audiences. One of the best parts is that this is a message that reaches young and not so young across the board. It is a message we can all relate to. No matter who our President were to be during these trying times, Americans, and even the world needs to feel a sense of optimism.
Despite this new wave of optimism instilled in us by our President and carried through by Pepsi et. al., viewers have a short attention span and this wont last for long. New trends will come along and breed newer, bigger ad campaigns. And I will be right here to give my two cents about it.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Nicely done Ella. There is a lot of HOPE going around these days. Better than DESPAIR and WHY BOTHER attitudes.
“Yes, Pecan!” is hilarious. I’d like to see “Straight Talk Espresso” to make it fair and balanced!
::nods::
There’s been a lot of talk about the Pepsi and IKEA campaigns. Obviously I’m somewhat less than impartial
, but Susan and I have a somewhat unique perspective so I finally started a series of articles to explore some of the details in which: “[President] Obama’s commitment to change and fiscal responsibility is very close to IKEA’s philosophy of practical and affordable furniture.” If you’re interested, take a look at http://www.ikeafans.com/blog/tag/obama/ for more details.
Have to say this is one of the more interesting and multi-sided articles on this basic subject… Congrats to Ella Keeven!