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 Jon Tingley

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, Leadership, Views on News, wispundits • February 25th, 2008

Some quick primary bites

by Dennis A. Shook

*Waukesha County Board Supervisor Rodell Singert, who was one of the staunchest supporters of reducing the size of the board from 35 to 11 (the board settled on 25 starting with this election), finished last among four candidates in the primary. He ended up running against two other board incumbents as a result of the redistricting that was required because of the downsizing.

*Supporters of Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee, Jr., claim he does an even better job on his constituent service work from behind bars than many other alderman do who are not incarcerated. But losing candidates might want to keep their campaign signs close at hand, just in case McGee is convicted of felony charges later this spring. He would then be ineligible to serve and a special election would be held.

*Keith Bosman, the man who ran against retiring Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian in the mayor’s first election bid in 1992, now has the mayor’s support in the upcoming April election. The man Bosman will oppose, former Mayor Pat Moran, took that office in the 1988 election, the same year Bosman was first elected alderman.

*Brad DeBraska, who will be facing incumbent Milwaukee Alderman Terry Witkowski in District 13 on the south side, has remained one of the city’s most influential movers and shakers behind the scenes, despite not having been head of the Milwaukee police union for several years. It should be an arresting general election, being that the district is where many cops make their home.

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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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Branding Politix, Leadership, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News, public relations, wispundits • February 24th, 2008

Kehl needs to get message out

by Dennis A. Shook

How do you continue to function as a public official when you have been charged with a misdeed but won’t have a chance to answer charges in a court for many weeks or months?

That is problem faced now by Kenosha County Executive Allan Kehl, who is in the middle of his second term as county leader and also finds himself in the middle of one of the biggest scandals in Kenosha history.

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