Branding Politix, Messaging, public relations • February 29th, 2008

5 great movies about politics

by Chris Lato

At the end of a long week, let’s have some fun, shall we? I’m taking my love of movies (and I mean LOVE – I even suffered through “Be Kind Rewind” this week) and drawing up a list of my political flick favorites. These movies all speak to the rigors of campaigns and those who participate – some of the best stuff in these movies shows how communication, PR, messaging and ‘packaging’ candidates impact politics.
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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Messaging, Views on News, wispundits • February 28th, 2008

Uh-oh

by Chris Lato

Barack Obama is moving ahead of Hillary Clinton in Texas.

This comes as I took a walk down memory lane today, listening to the Howard Stern Show on Sirius satellite radio (I’m a Stern fan – sue me!)

Turns out their guest was none other than Gennifer Flowers. Remember her? Well, she gamely answered any and all breathtakingly vulgar questions about, you know, The Affair With Bill. Without going into details, let’s just say I received as much info as I ever could have wanted.

If Hillary Clinton gets the nomination – and that is getting to be a bigger ‘if’ with each passing day – what does that mean for the next several months? Will we be partying like it’s 1992? Talk about going back to the future.

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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Messaging, Views on News, public relations, wispundits • February 27th, 2008

Hijacked: Third-parties rising?

by Chris Lato

I haven’t written anything yet about the state Supreme Court race, but this article serves as a timely reminder of the sway that independent, third-party groups can hold over elections.

In the upcoming spring election, Judge Michael Gableman faces Justice Louis Butler, a Gov. Doyle appointee.

(Disclosure: Gableman’s key advisor, Darrin Schmitz, was the guy who hired me at the state GOP back in Preview »2001.)

Let’s face it – the high court races are pretty much non-partisan in name only, and the overall tone seems to be getting nastier with each election. It has been trending this way for a long time. It is fair to ask the degree to which independent groups are ramping up the rhetoric and driving the debate.

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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Messaging, Views on News, public relations, wispundits • February 26th, 2008

Huckabee begs: Rip on me, too!

by Chris Lato

In the world of Mike Huckabee, there’s no such thing as bad PR. Huckabee is out there begging the New York Times to take a shot at him, similar to the Times’ hit on John McCain last week, which was widely derided by conservatives.

Maybe Huckabee said this with tongue in cheek — the article doesn’t make that clear. After his self-aware appearance on Saturday Night Live, who knows which angle he’s coming from. But it’s clear he recognizes his last best hope is getting as much free media coverage as he can. From any other way you slice it, it’s all over for the guy. But he’ll have an awesome clip file when all is said and done — which raises an excellent PR question about generating media coverage that matters.

It’s interesting to ponder what Huckabee hopes to gain from all this, beyond the ego boost. Does this build his credibility? Will people be impressed by all the coverage he’s received - or is he veering off into joke-of-the-campaign status? Will his relationship with the press be an asset to the GOP after 2008? Can Huckabee parlay this candidacy into a power-broker role after the elections? After all, four years ago, Howard Dean was considered a joke, too - a joke he parlayed into leading the Democrat party through an historic rout at the ballot box in 2006. Who’s laughing now?

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Branding Politix, Creative • February 25th, 2008

7 ads that win

by wispundit

One of the most crucial things to a campaign these days is a great ad campaign. In the business world, the ultimate goal of most ads is to increase revenue, but political ads lead to something much more powerful…votes. Listed below are some ads that win. Some of these ads may not be political, but they are creative, innovative and sometimes inspiring; these values certainly relate to advertising in the political arena.

• Lexus “the letter h” campaign for their hybrid line. Watch the spots here and here, read the whole post including the press release via Autoblog.com

• Leo Burnett’s Arcor Bubblegum ad via thecoolhunter.net

• Christy Mihos for Governor of Massachusetts

• Dove’s “Evolution” ad promoting its Real Beauty Workshops

• The classic “Daisy” ad for Lyndon Johnson

• Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign ad, “Interview”

• And another from thecoolhunter.net from Australian police…here.

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2008 Primaries, Creative, Messaging, public relations • February 25th, 2008

Huckabee brings the funny

by Chris Lato

Mike Huckabee has suddenly raised his stock, just a tiny bit, after his amusing bit on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

At least he’s self-aware enough to do something like this, and as I’ve said before, as long as he’s enjoying the run of free press attention, the guy has no reason to drop out of the race (except for all the Republicans he’s annoying by not stepping aside).

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Branding Politix, Speeches, Strategic Blueprints, public relations • February 25th, 2008

Defining McCain, defining Obama

by Chris Lato

This is weird- I was having a conversation at lunch Monday about this exact topic, only to find this article that articulates the issue well. Assuming it will be Obama vs. McCain this November (and I am getting close to making that assumption), this is what the race will be about.

Barack Obama is sending messages about who he is and what he wants to stand for. It is an appeal to emotions and feelings. That is the niche he has very successfully carved out for himself.

In contrast, John McCain’s messages are more about steady leadership. He is not about ‘hope for the future.’

Obama appeals to the heart, McCain to the head. On that basis, who wins in November?

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2008 Primaries, Fundraising, Leadership, Messaging, public relations • February 24th, 2008

3 reasons why Hillary is losing

by Chris Lato

I’m told people on the internet love lists. I know there are more than three reasons for Hillary’s slide, and you may disagree with the three I cite. But the three I’m taking on in this post offer a PR/messaging/media relations perspective.Why is Hillary Clinton losing? Let me count the ways…

1. Money - and the perceptions tied to it

As a national candidate loses momentum, money dries up and shifts to the candidate gaining ground. We are seeing that happen with Barack Obama. Clinton is no slouch in the fundraising department, but she has had to loan her own campaign millions - a sign of fundraising weakness. Questions about her campaign’s spending habits are also being raised. This is campaign mismanagement, which leads to a legitimate messaging problem: if she can’t manage a campaign budget, how can she be counted on to manage a federal budget?

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2008 Primaries, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, public relations • February 21st, 2008

Duck! Let the mudslinging begin

by Chris Lato

Here we go.

Now that John McCain is virtually assured the GOP presidential nomination, the New York Times has dusted off some ages-old allegations and placed them on the front page, above the fold.

The honeymoon is over, and McCain is getting his first real taste of Presidential politics, 2008-style. The story has been kicking around for a while, and it appears the Times held off on publishing the piece until after McCain all-but locked down the nomination, under pressure from the McCain camp.

That seems to be a tacit acknowledgment that this story is weak sauce. Otherwise, why not run with it when you had the chance back in December?

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2008 Primaries, Leadership, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News, public relations • February 21st, 2008

The McCain bombshell …… behind the scenes

by Chris Lato

Here’s a fascinating peek behind the scenes of the New York Times report on John McCain. The Times piece has apparently been percolating for a number of months. The internal newsroom struggles depicted here offer an educational look at how journalistic standards and campaign coverage are mutating.

John McCain, attacked by the New York Times: he can wear this like a badge of honor when courting the conservatives. This is a PR advantage that the McCain camp should pick up and run with.

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