Can we discuss politics without getting political?

[Pat Whatley]

Can we discuss politics without getting political? I doubt it so Fred will have to pull this but here goes nothing....

Followed a link that led me to the President's campaign website. Looked around the site for a while and the main thing that caught my eye is that the whole thing is very, very well done. It's got a little of a retro feel, but still a modern swing on it. The graphics are good, the colors are pretty harmonious, and it's really easy to navigate. The charts and graphs on the site are clean, simple, and just graphically nice to look at. Go to the t-shirt section and there's a slew of shirts there that I'd actually wear if they had a different name on them. During the last campaign he did the same thing....everything about him and his campaign was designed to appeal to pop culture....from the iconic O logo to the Shepherd Fairy portrait it was all eye candy and I believe it helped him get elected. I'd never seen a campaign before where people lined up to BUY campaign signs.

So I wandered over to the opponents campaign site and I just don't get it. It looks like a site for a 1990s beer company. First of all I don't know who came up with the idea of the tri-color "R" logo but compare it to Obama's O and Romney looks like a second-rate superhero and the "vintage" logo isn't much better. The t-shirts are bad. They look like something you're average shirt printer knocked out over lunch. There's not cohesiveness, no style, they aren't bad, they're just not appealing.

I know, I know, the campaign is not about who hired the best branding team, it's about issues. One of the sites is definately more fluff than substance.

Again, I'm not trying to say anything about either side politically, just pointing out how interesting I find it how differently two design teams chasing the same goal chose to handle the situation.

 

[Gino]

I've noticed the same thing about other parts of his campaign. In some ways they are very well organized while in others.... it's as if he didn't care.

Trying not to sound one-sided, but it makes you wonder where some people put their priorities and others put their real strengths. ??

 

[Gene@mpls]

I know, I know, the campaign is not about who hired the best branding team, it's about issues. One of the sites is definately more fluff than substance.

If we cared about substance and that worked... that is what they would
give us. They do what works. And it may be about who hires the best
branding team. Issues do not work... politics do not work.

 

[Vinylman]

Can we discuss politics without getting political? I doubt it so Fred will have to pull this but here goes nothing....


I know, I know, the campaign is not about who hired the best branding team, it's about issues. One of the sites is definately more fluff than substance.

EXACTLY!!!

Just watch

 

[rjssigns]

One camp understands demographics, psychographics and target marketing. Pscyhographics is a term you will be hearing more and more about. It is used to facilitate market segmentation. It aids in developing a more "realistic" picture of your given market.

 

[TheSnowman]

All I know is...I'll be glad when all the campaigning is over! I feel grumpier all the time because all I see are attack ads as it draws closer. I think deep down people always want to have respect for both teams...but it's like our culture and media that's all around us all the time now, we feel like it's our job to "destroy" the people that we don't agree with.

 

[ucmj22]

During the last campaign he did the same thing....everything about him and his campaign was designed to appeal to pop culture....from the iconic O logo to the Shepherd Fairy portrait it was all eye candy and I believe it helped him get elected. I'd never seen a campaign before where people lined up to BUY campaign signs.
So I wandered over to the opponents campaign site and I just don't get it. It looks like a site for a 1990s beer company. First of all I don't know who came up with the idea of the tri-color "R" logo but compare it to Obama's O and Romney looks like a second-rate superhero and the "vintage" logo isn't much better. The t-shirts are bad. They look like something you're average shirt printer knocked out over lunch. There's not cohesiveness, no style, they aren't bad, they're just not appealing.

I have noticed the same thing, Obamas campaign has a very focused branding team. they have a standard set, and they stick to it (the mark of a highly experienced marketing firm). It is very powerful when you are constantly seeing the same branded image.
The Romney campaign on the other hand seems to be chasing after Obamas look, but without the dedication to one cohesive vision. I think they have changed their main font recently and didnt match their subfont very well. Recently I have seen a few ads (Static print/email) of his that had elements that I thought looked good, but then I would see something else and think, What the hell is that doing here..

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

Where politics is concerned, all I'm gonna say is it's very apparent politicians in this country have lost (or abandoned) the statesmanly art of disagreeing without being disagreeable.

 

[signswi]

The difference is young, powerful movers are onboard the O campaign and have been since '08. All-star tech and design companies tend to be liberal, if you look at the biggest sector growth in the last 20 years it's companies chaired or founded by liberals which gives O a huge advantage when it comes to seeming culturally on-point (as he has much better advisers and handlers to tap: Facebook co-founder, etc.). It's something R is absolutely terrible at, he's even more disconnected from popular culture reality than K was in '04.

Another hidden factor is that O's team built a massive advantage in field organizing in '08, which meant they had a lot more on-the-ground voices contributing to the cultural perception. M was terrible at that and R isn't looking much better. That's a direct influence of the young, tech-driven advisers behind O's machine.

Also, dude just has Charisma. You can't really teach that. Marketers want to be on the side of the candidate with Charisma so they have something to actually work with.

 

[bob]

The mind boggles at the prospect of someone who be distracted from actual issues by the slickness of a web site, the quality of a t-shirt, or the message on a bumper sticker.

That someone who would be swayed by these sorts of meaningless things would even be allowed to vote is off-putting.

 

[ColoPrinthead]

The mind boggles at the prospect of someone who be distracted from actual issues by the slickness of a web site, the quality of a t-shirt, or the message on a bumper sticker.

That someone who would be swayed by these sorts of meaningless things would even be allowed to vote is off-putting.

Especially if they are swayed by a logo and not the actual positions of the candidates. The idea of it is almost as bad as people being swayed by attack ads and never looking into the facts.

 

[Marlene]

Again, I'm not trying to say anything about either side politically, just pointing out how interesting I find it how differently two design teams chasing the same goal chose to handle the situation.

glad you brought this up and I do hope we can talk about this from a design/image viewpoint. what I have noticed are the ads on TV. the way they have both set up a mood with visuals is great. one ad has the stuff about the other guy slightly out of focus and then when their guy comes on, all is high def/crystal clear. another ad has the other guy singing badly but it sounds like they ran it threw an old system so the voice is even worse so it becomes an audio setting mood. both have some pretty good ads as you could turn the sound down (on all but the singing one) and you can feel the mood they are setting.

 

[Gino]

Kinda starting to sound like... If you can't dazzle them with brilliance then baffle them with bull............. might be their new motto.

I too, don't understand why the need for techie type influences. Isn't it about getting in based on your abilities and accomplishments, rather than a popularity contest ??


I don't hear campaign speeches like yesteryear or real promises for all the people. I just hear strategies to get elected regardless of your platform. There's no gumption in any of their words anymore. They both sound and even look scared when speaking and all this hocus-pocus is just supposed to fool us into trusting one over the other.

I'm know my choices.... but I'm not thrilled with any of them. ​

 

[SD&F]

I agree with you GINO, I know my choices and I'm not happy about them either.
It becomes difficult when the candidates act as if they are so very different and yet they seem to be saying the same thing. A bunch of meaningless BULL----

 

[TammieH]

Where politics is concerned, all I'm gonna say is it's very apparent politicians in this country have lost (or abandoned) the statesmanly art of disagreeing without being disagreeable.

Not only politicians, it seems the general public is less open to opposing views.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Can we slide back over to a discussion of their color palette and font choices?

 

[Fred Weiss]

Can we slide back over to a discussion of their color palette and font choices?

 

[TyrantDesigner]

Everything hits a target market. Maybe R's advising and marketing teams are going for that 90's beer website look to hit their target audience ..



perhaps at a kegger in a field.

 

[Pat Whatley]

I understand. It's got to be hard as hell to plan a branding strategy when you're trying to find one image to appeal to as many likely voters....of every race, economic, religious, and age demographic.....in every section of the country.....who all already have a jaded opinions about the political parties.

Whole lot different than doing a local lawn care company that wants to appeal to local people with grass.

 

[Fred Weiss]

I understand. It's got to be hard as hell to plan a branding strategy when you're trying to find one image to appeal to as many likely voters....of every race, economic, religious, and age demographic.....in every section of the country.....who all already have a jaded opinions about the political parties.

Whole lot different than doing a local lawn care company that wants to appeal to local people with grass.

I'm not so sure the branding really matters. Current polls and other data indicate that only 8% of likely voters are still undecided and that the entire election depends on the results in only about 10 of the 50 states. Your vote Pat is irrelevant because your state and most others are already counted and have been written off. In my state, it's a different matter ... but speaking for myself, I record all the TV I watch and zap the commercials so my exposure is minimal.

So the reality is that about 20% of the 8% of undecided voters (1.6%) are going to decide who will win the next presidential election. How many of them will be affected by the graphic styles used is anybody's guess. Let's hope not enough to change the actual outcome.

The lyrics from an old Rod Stewart song come to mind: "But there aint no point in talking when there's nobody listning so we just ran away"