The best thing about owning a marketing firm is the synergy that results from being around highly creative people for 40 (or 60) hours a week. And since the advertising and marketing world is largely Democratic, it's not unusual to overhear discussions in the kitchen and the breakroom that center around the hypothetical, "What if WE were in charge of marketing a major Democratic candidate?"
My company has only waded into the political realm once -- in 2003, when we handled the marketing for Madison's "Man of the Century" and perennial Mayor, Paul Soglin. Some of you may recognize Soglin as the spirited leader of anti-Vietnam war protests here at the University of Wisconsin nearly 4 decades ago.
A few months ago, a
diary of mine started a very heated debate about the marketing and branding (or lack thereof) of the Democratic Party. Since then, many of us have also weighed in -- negatively, for the most part -- on the lame "We Can Do Better" (or alternatively, "America Can Do Better") theme that our party seems to want to trot out on behalf of 2006 candidates. So, let's rescue the party from this crap slogan and come up with our own.
"Change for your Dollar" -- how's that for a Dem fundraising slogan?
It meets the typical "rules" of slogan development: it's short and memorable, is honest and sustainable, and easily lends itself to a vast portfolio of supporting messages.
One other "rule" is heavily debated in the political arena, and that is the question of whether it's appropriate to use a negative slogan, i.e., a slogan that essentially bashes your opponent, instead of communicating something positive about your own campaign.
As a general rule, I don't like negative themes and slogans, mostly because they seem like a cop out. And if you want to be elected to office, you really should be able to say something positive about yourself, independent of your enemy.
That being said, here's a negative campaign theme that could be used locally by Dems in many heavily Republican districts (say, perhaps, against Tom Delay):
"If you vote for a criminal, does that make you an accomplice?"
Heavy-handed, but it sends a very precise message. Unfortunately, it doesn't meet the "short" rule.
Every one here at DailyKos is politically astute enough to know what's on the mind of voters right now: intergrity, honesty, cooperation, common sense, true representation. And I suspect we're also creative enough to weave those concepts into memorable slogans and campaign themes.
Here's how I'd like to structure the discussion:
- Put your slogan or theme idea in the subject line
- In the text, tell us how you see it being used (local or national, for fundraising, for voter awareness, etc.)
- Use your ratings to vote for the ones you like best
If we get some good discussion going, I'll summarize your ideas and send them off to Howard Dean, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Who knows -- Kossacks just might be responsible for crafting the winning message!
I have a few ideas that I'll post in the comments later.
Let's get started!