If you’ve been watching the debates, suffering through the commercials, or just listening to the parties squawk, you’ve probably gotten the ide, as I have, that both McCain and Obama are humorless drones. McCain comes across as largely stiff and formal, while Obama strikes me as a slick, albeit empty suit. Then I watched the Al Smith Benefit in New York. 

Who knew these guys had a sense of humor?

Looking at this from a marketing perspective, this evening was a fascinating look at how one or two events or public appearances can radically remake perceptions of a brand – in this case two candidates. 

Of the two of them, McCain seemed to get the bigger yuks, and looked like an experienced roaster, while Obama looked a little more like what he is – a freshman senator, unused to the rigors of the rubber chicken circuit. However, they both got in some good lines, and neither of them hurt themselves or their campaigns. 

I don’t know if it’s that expectations for McCain were low (and therefore all he had to do was get a couple of laughs to aquit himself) or if he’s genuinely got a gift for it. Hard to tell that night, as both candidates obviously hired some crack joke writers and speechwriters to put their act together. 

McCain’s stuff was more topical, more on-target, more acerbic, and frankly, delivered better. Obama’s timing seemed a little off, and he seemed a little uncomfortable up there, even though the crowd was filled with New York Democrats, largely friendly to him. 

McCain skewered Obama, Biden, Hillary, Bill, MSNBC, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, the mainstream media, and himself. His routine was masterful – he even setup Obama at the end, poking fun at the expectations for his speech. 

With that setup, Obama didn’t have a prayer, unless he could be Abbott, Costello, George Carlin, and Bob Hope rolled into one. 

He swung for the outfield, but at best got a single. 

I was genuinely surprised, as I figured that Obama would clean McCain’s clock. It was really the other way around. Still, I could rationalize this by giving McCain’s writers a lot of credit. 

Then McCain went on Letterman and stood up to Dave, giving every bit as good as he got. In that format, he had to rely on wit and spontaneity. He did. And he did well. 

So how can we apply these lessons to marketing? Well, first of all, this is a sterling example of how a single event (or in McCain’s case, two events) can cause people to rethink what they “know” about a brand. It’s also a reminder that every event or interaction with the public is an opportunity for the public to reinforce – or rethink their perceptions. 

Have a brand problem? Take heart – one well-timed event can swing perceptions in your favor. But you need a forum that will play to your strengths, and help you sway perceptions. 

It remains to be seen if these events will change any votes. Frankly, nobody will ever know if the charity roast, the “Joe the Plumber” flap, or the debates have swung enough votes to change the outcome of the race. But if you’re in marketing, every event should be an opportunity that your brand can use to gain an advantage.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 17th, 2008 at 10:28 pm and is filed under marketing, media.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.