Here’s some fresh news from AdAdge that Barack Obama has been awarded the AdAge Marketer of the Year award, edging out Apple and Zappos. 36.1% of all votes went to Obama, compared toApple’s 27.3% and Zappo’s 14.1%.
Just weeks before he demonstrates whether his campaign’s blend of grass-roots appeal and big media-budget know-how has converted the American electorate, Sen. Barack Obama has shown he’s already won over the nation’s brand builders. He’s been named Advertising Age’s marketer of the year for 2008.
Mr. Obama won the vote of hundreds of marketers, agency heads and marketing-services vendors gathered here at the Association of National Advertisers’ annual conference. He edged out runners-up Apple and Zappos.com. The rest of the shortlist, selected by Ad Age’s editorial staff, was rounded out by megabrand Nike, turnaround story Coors and Mr. Obama’s rival, Sen. John McCain.
I don’t know but this all sounds like “grassroots” campaigning and politics to me; that said, the Barack Obama campaign has a certain level of religiosity and passion that might just have welled into campaigning, using AdAge as a platform.
I wonder. I might be wrong.
It’s just a little fishy. Sounds a little bit of memetic engineering mixed in with a high passion base rolled into a high probability that modern ad men and ad women are urban liberals and might use the awards to make a vocal statement.
Again, I might be wrong.
Mind you, if this is a conspiracy of Barack Obama campaigning and pro-Obama activation, then the success in fact proves and reinforces the award as rightfully — and with passion — belonging to the Obama/Biden ticket.
What do you think?
Let’s see…
I’ll take this two ways.
First of all, you’ve got a young, inexperienced on the national liberal level black guy, four plus years removed from being a local attorney, state senator, and community organizer, that’s poised to become the 44th president of the United States. This is a country that’s 12% black and 40-55 years removed from the civil rights struggle where, if he was the age he is now back then, couldn’t eat at many lunch counters and drink out of the same water fountain.
The country is undergoing much turmoil, with serious political divisions, as it fights two wars that have lasted longer than expected and, now finds itself itself in the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.
He did this by beating the frontrunner of his own party (Clinton) – a wife of the former president who has mega connections, access to money, a huge media market in her home base, and because of all of the above, POWER. And a reputation of playing dirty.
He also beat out another young inspiring aspirant (Edwards) who already has had national exposure by being on the national ticket.
He also beat out three foreign policy studs (Biden, Dodd, Richardson).
He’s been designated as being the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate – in a country that’s supposedly still center-right.
He’s about to beat a nationally known war hero who has sacrificed greatly for his country and who has had a reputation of being independent minded.
His record of achievement is thin – as that of most first term senators.
And he’s set to become the President of the United States of America. The Leader of the Free World. The Most Powerful Man on the Face of the Earth.
And his middle name is Hussein.
Yes, they did an excellent job in marketing Barack Obama. From A to Z. He’s inspired millions, something that hasn’t happened since Reagan got elected. Or maybe Kennedy.
But it’s not just marketing – I think it’s genuine and not just a package.
Having said that, I have no doubt that the good people over at Ad Age (including our ooVoo buddy Bob Garfield) are solidly liberal whose gut instincts are to be impressed by pretty much anything Obama does. That’s basically the advertising industry. They’re the type that would think any type of negative attack on Obama is despicable, while any negative attacks on McCain is “strong, tough politics”, or, at worst, “inappropriate”.