“Let me write the ballads of a country, and I care not who writes the laws.” – Plato
I first heard this quote from Bill Whittle. If you don’t know Bill, I encourage you to check out his work on PJTV. Bill is one of the great minds of our generation. He is with few equals. He is brilliant.
One of Bill’s most thought-provoking and in-depth commentaries is about the concept of Iconography – the use of visual icons and artistry to convey a message. He points out that iconography is part of the American culture; about how the sight of Mickey Mouse can evoke far different feelings that that of the Playboy bunny. Think about the world around you. You know a McDonald’s is ahead of you when you see the tips of the Golden Arches. You know an Apple computer by that very simple apple. The Apple logo is so identified with Apple computers that they do not need to put the name Apple next to it.
Obama has been masterful in his use of iconography. The “O” as Whittle describes it, looks like a rising sun on a field of the American flag, denoting a positive future. There is no doubting that Whittle is right in his assessment – iconography is extremely important. Images move us, they compel us. They can evoke emotions of joy, of anger, of love, of hate, of pride, of despair. We are a visual nation, and, as some other smart people have said, “Image is everything.”
Madison Avenue, where the tv, print and web commercials are conceived and hatched, knows about imagery. They are astutely aware of the current trends. They are constantly feeling out society, moving their message (and the sale of their products) as well as they can. As a 38 year old, I know when I hear Led Zeppelin in a Cadillac commercial that the commercial is being directed at me.
Madison Avenue’s job is to take Plato’s advice to heart. They dictate culture by showing us what is within the American psyche. By showing us what moves us to the moment of purchase. Their job is to move our hearts and minds.
With that knowledge, the Tea Party can celebrate a victory! And it is a big one. We have won a magnificent battle in the culture war.
Recently, three television commercials have been aired on network television….three commercials that are from three iconic brands – Bud Light, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Dodge. Each of these three commercials highlight the same iconic brand – our Founding Fathers.
They are not in the background, but front and center: the emotional tug leading us to buy the product in question. In the Bud Light commercial, the Founders are having a 4th of July party. In the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese ad, it features President Thomas Jefferson (and author of the Declaration of Independence) detailing how he created the recipe for baked macaroni and cheese. (NOTE – I was unable to find that ad, though this Jefferson ad for Kraft is online.) In the Dodge ad, perhaps the most fantastic ad of all, the Red Coats are walking in a field. They are called by their commander to form a line. They draw their guns and take aim into the woods. They wait, there is silence. Then, the sound of a revving car, and three Dodge Challengers, one with an American Flag on the back, comes racing out of the woods. The Red Coats become filled with fear, and scatter for their lives. Behind the wheel of the Challenger – President George Washington. The tag line is – “There’s a couple of things America got right. Cars and Freedom.”
Madison Avenue is here to sell. They have no other agenda. To sell us, they must understand us. They must tap into who we are and what we believe. To do this, they look to the culture. Their job is to judge the cultural motion (and at times create it.) Their reading of the culture can not be denied. The Tea Party is the culture in America. Freedom, Liberty, Capitalism…those are the selling points!
Nothing the NAACP, MSNBC or add your own multi-lettered-statist-agenda-pushing group here can do or say can change this. The racist argument has failed! The radical argument has failed! (The Dodge ad states that America got things right, something the Statist Left would never admit!) The Tea Party is now fully entrenched in the psyche of America. And that image is so fundamentally strong, so encompasses the values of America, so in touch with American ideal of Freedom, Liberty and Capitalism that Madison Avenue has taken it to heart, and to the bank.
We hear about companies who are guarded about their brands. The wrong association can lead to mass firings. When clients/celebrities/spokespeople fall from grace, or are involved in activities that companies find damaging to their brand, they run from those people. (See Tiger Woods, Mel Gibson and Helen Thomas.)
In this case, they are running towards the Tea Party. Madison Avenue, via three iconic American products/brands, have embraced the Tea Party, and the millions who consider themselves a part of it.
Tea Party – 1 Statists/Race Hustlers – 0
(NOTE – This is a huge victory, but – to think of it in military terms – we have only won a battle, not the war. The next victory is November, 2010. However, the Generals must be planning now for the real victory – November 2012….2014….2016….2018….2020 and beyond.)
