The Slogan Test

9:16 am EST September 20th, 2008 | News | 9 Comments

Change We Need

In 2004, John Kerry had:

* Let America Be America Again
* Stronger at home, respected in the world
* A safer, stronger, more secure America.
* The real deal
* A lifetime of service and strength

And Bush had:
* Steady leadership in times of change

In 2008, Obama has:
* Change We Can Believe In
* Change We Need

(which is not so much of a change in slogan as a tweak)

And McCain has (so far):
* Best Prepared to Lead from Day One
* Experienced Leadership
* Bold Solutions
* A Leader we can believe in.
* Reform • Prosperity • Peace
* Country First

I have a feeling that on some level, sticking to your slogan is in line with sticking to your message. And as recent history shows us, sticking to the message is one of the keys to victory. The last week has shown us how McCain keeps lurching around while Obama has more or less stayed on task even when his supporters (including me) have freaked out both in the primaries and now in the general.

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9 Responses to “The Slogan Test”

  1. Tyro says:
    September 20, 2008 at 9:44 am

    I’m not sure that this is a cause of campaign weakness as much as a symptom. When your campaign is stumbling, you’re going to look to retool and readjust, thus changing slogans. But if you’re doing well and holding steady during the campaign, there won’t be the same need to keep changing your message in the hopes that one of them resonates.

    Now, Kerry had his own weaknesses as a campaigner, but in 2003, he was making all these changes to his campaign and his messages and slogans until, finally, he hit paydirt and won the nomination. If he had “held steady” with whatever wasn’t working before, it’s entirely possible that he wouldn’t have gotten that far in the first place.

  2. Roadkill Refugee says:
    September 20, 2008 at 9:59 am

    Great post. It’s helpful to be reminded of the ’04 slogans. I also agree with Tyro that the slogan shifting is a symptom of underlying weaknesses. Looking at them again for the first time in years, it’s obvious Kerry’s slogans were pathetic. They were either empty fluff or references to Kerry’s biography. Once the Swift Boat Veterans were able to undermine Kerry’s biography, that left him with nothing.

    By contrast, Obama’s consistent slogan is a symptom of his message and vision discipline. The same could be said for his overall branding, from the fonts to the colors to the circle logo. He mapped this out over a year ago brilliantly and has stuck with it. Many of us have panicked several times now, even since before the Iowa primary, let alone before Super Tuesday, after the Wright video, after PA and OH and after the Palin pick. How has Obama responded every time? Calmly, cooly, assertively. At some point, we got to believe the man has a plan and knows what he’s doing.

    As you said, Oliver, “STFU, I got this one.”

  3. Parthenon says:
    September 20, 2008 at 10:07 am

    I agree with the room – symptom, not cause. If your campaign is weaker you’re going to be more tempted to try new things. One other thing – Sen. McCain’s many slogans and several of Kerry’s are self-centric (experienced leadership, the real deal, etc.), whereas Sen. Obama’s and President Bush’s are country-centric, or somehow centered on others (change WE need, steady leadership IN TIMES OF CHANGE).

  4. Williver Ollis says:
    September 20, 2008 at 10:18 am

    I think Palin has the gist of a new slogan for the ticket.

    OIL IS A FUNGIBLE COMMODITY — THEY DON’T FLAG THE MOLECULES

  5. jr says:
    September 20, 2008 at 12:51 pm

    “science is Satanic”-Palin campaign slogan

  6. Athenae says:
    September 20, 2008 at 1:06 pm

    I still think one of Wonkette’s Sloganators had it right, from ’04, about Bush: Love Jesus, Hate Yourself. That applies just as well to McCain/Palin.

    Is one of those Kerry slogans his and then maybe he changed to a new one when he hooked up with Edwards? I see your point about message discipline, and agree with it, but I wonder if that might account for one of the changes at least.

    I still have my Kerry/Edwards Real Deal sign.

    A.

  7. Oliver Willis says:
    September 20, 2008 at 6:17 pm

    Yeah, I think they switched to “respected in the world” after Edwards joined – but then they dropped it. Obama switched at the convention, but again, not the flailing switch we’re seeing on the McCain side. They sort of have the “Team of Mavericks” one too, but they’re more using that in ads than as a slogan. For now.

  8. C.S.Strowbridge says:
    September 21, 2008 at 11:41 am

    “OIL IS A FUNGIBLE COMMODITY — THEY DON’T FLAG THE MOLECULES”

    I’ve taken economics in university and I know what fungible means. (Short definition: any barrel of oil is the same as the next. Opposite: artwork, where each painting is unique.) However, I am 90% sure to 90% of the people listening, she might as well been speaking Klingon.

  9. C.S.Strowbridge says:
    September 21, 2008 at 11:46 am

    (Short definition: any barrel of oil is the same as the next. Opposite: artwork, where each painting is unique.)

    On a side note, I actually spent time thinking about whether ‘any’ was a better choice than ‘every’. I’m still not sure my choice was optimal.

    This is how anal I am about language.