1. The Republican Party is gonna need some big-time marketing. First, the GOP has to do some agonizin’ reappraisals, and figure out what went wrong (they stopped acting like Republicans and blurred the brand), and how to fix things (start acting like the tax-cutting, small-government people they used to be). The genius of Ronald Reagan was that he convinced the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives to peacefully coexist in the same tent. That coalition has fractured (if not shattered) in the Bush years. The new blood in the GOP must find a way to restore this partnership, or risk being increasingly marginalized. Once that’s accomplished, the way to sell that is via a concerted marketing effort that is both innovative and resonant. Marketing is no substitute for the right message, but without marketing, it’s a message no one will hear.
2. The issues near and dear to conservatives – gun rights, the right to life, lower taxes, less government intrusion – are all going to need marketing champions. With a dramatic swing to the left, all of these issues will be in the crosshairs for those on the left. The only way to defend them, will be to make a more compelling story to the masses. The media will be actively working against them (as they are largely in sympathy with the liberal agenda), so a compelling story and marketing message is absolutely essential.
3. Part of being the party out of power in a disastrous election year will be serving as the loyal opposition – in other words, being there to keep the guys in power honest. This wil lbe especially important, given that the mainstream media has proven that they have no interest in holding the left accountable. The way to get this message out? Marketing. Lots of marketing. The right will have to walk a fine line – conscientiously objecting to the left’s plans that are too extreme, but not appearing to be obstructionists to the left’s plans that have the support of the majority of the people. Drawing that line will be critical.
4. There will be plenty of opportunities for those on the left to use marketing to help grease the skids for making the new plans of the Obama administration a reality. Of course, when you’re doing something where you’ve got the media in the tank, the powers-that-be in your corner, and (presumably) no budget problems, the temptation will be there to cut corners, or worse, toss ethics out the window. Resist. Any time marketing goes overboard, it not only hurts the credibility of all marketers, but it also diminishes the effectiveness of marketing in the eyes of the public. Be wary – the last thing this country needs is a public that is even more skeptical than they are now.

Are there more opportunities out there? Sure. But this should provide a good head start for conceptualizing the way to look at what’s in store for marketers in the next four years. In fact, this just scratches the surface – industries that have taken a black eye are going to need marketing triage…banks, mortgage lenders, insurance companies, drug companies, the entire automobile industry – you name it. Lots of opportunities for conscientious, talented marketers. Lots of pitfalls for those who are willing to trade ethics for profit.

It’s likely to be a wild ride. Hang on tight.

It’s no big secret that sex sells. What’s surprising though, is when a well-known, established brand, with products presumably in demand, resorts to using sex alone to sell it’s products. Exhibit A: Levi’s. The latest spot from the bluejeans moguls has two twenty-something impossibly beautiful people (both in Levi’s, natch) ascending the stairs on their way to what is obviously a “hook-up” (i.e.: meaningless sex between two people that barely know each other). The young man admits “I’m not really in a band.” The girl offers “I’m not really work for a lable.” The conversation continues, with each fessing up to lies they’ve told earlier. The denouement (if you can call it that) comes when he says, “truth is, I’ve been sleeping in my car.” As she strips down to her skivvies, she airily replies, “that’s okay…this isn’t really my apartment,” as the boy switches on the lights to reveal they are indeed in someone else’s apartment.

Pause with me for a nanosecond, whilst we ponder how many ways this ad trashes just about every moral value I can think of.

Let’s start with the typical, “Levi’s is what you wear when you want to be young, hip, and desirable.” (Read: “if you wanna hook up with a hottie, you’d best be wearin’ Levi’s.”) Next, we learn that, apparently, lying to someone to get in their pants is a socially acceptable dating ritual. Then, of course, there’s the whole “what’d you say your name was?” approach to casual sex. Finally, we learn that breaking and entering is A-OK, as long as you’re gonna get lucky.

What ever happened to selling jeans based on ideas like they last, their versatile, and they go with just about anything?

Look, I like looking at attractive women every bit as much as any other guy, but I’m getting pretty fed up with the idea that it’s okay to say anything, do anything, and promote anything, just to make a buck. Why does Levi’s believe it’s okay to tacitly approve of things like cheap, virtually anonymous sex, breaking into someone’s home, and lying to get what you want? Are their products so out-of-touch, expensive, or uncompetitive that they feel they must resort to pandering to the lowest emotions in order to sell their wares?

You know, I used to wear nothing but Levi’s, six days a-week. (If they’d have made men’s suits, it would have been seven days a week.) One day, I was looking for a new pair, and ran into a problem – my size was unavailable. And my need for a new pair had reached the critical stage. I remember going to three or four stores, and having no luck (apparently, I wear a pretty popular size). I was so desperate, I had no choice but to consider another brand. I tried on a pair of Wranglers. It was a revelation – they fit better, were more comfortable, and were about ten bucks cheaper than the same style of Levi’s. That day, I became a “Wrangler Man” – and haven’t looked back since. There’s not enough advertising budget in the world to get me to switch back, unless Wrangler suddenly starts making an inferior product.

Perhaps Levi’s might try something radically simple: go back to making a better product, at a competitive price, with ads that don’t offend a sizable portion of their market. Otherwise, perhaps they’d be better off making their media buys on the Playboy Channel or maybe look towards Skinimax for some product placement ideas.