Politics, food, and advertising
Sep. 28th, 2008 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoSo McCain Foods, a Canadian company, has decided to take advantage of the US elections for advertising purposes. I noticed in the supermarket yesterday that they had flyers out by the freezer case where the McCain french fries are displayed, and my first thought was to wonder if there actually is any connection between Republican John McCain and fried potatoes.
As far as I can tell, there is not a connection. The food company is trying to increase its US market share, to which I have no objection one way or another, but I think the current advertising tactic is nothing less than stupid. They are running ads and distributing flyers with headlines such as "Why McCain Should be in the White House" (which actually asserts the notion that McCain products should be served at White House dinners) and "McCain Declares War for Oil" (which is actually about keeping trans fats out of their products.) Supposedly they believe that Americans will get the joke, but I honestly don't think so. They also said that they hoped Democrats wouldn't object because their packaging is blue. This seems to me to be the oddest combination of very shallow thinking and devious marketing techniques that I've ever seen. It also displays a total lack of understanding of US politics. I think McCain Foods needs to get a US advertising agency if they want to reach the US market. It's obvious that their present advisors are somewhat... lacking?
I can't remember in my lifetime seeing any commercial product that tried to ride into popularity on the coattails of a political candidate. Well, maybe one, but Jelly Belly's overpriced jelly beans really didn't come into national prominence until after Ronald Reagan had been in office for a while. I can't remember them running advertising during the election campaign that tried to take advantage of Reagan's fondness for their product.
As far as I can tell, there is not a connection. The food company is trying to increase its US market share, to which I have no objection one way or another, but I think the current advertising tactic is nothing less than stupid. They are running ads and distributing flyers with headlines such as "Why McCain Should be in the White House" (which actually asserts the notion that McCain products should be served at White House dinners) and "McCain Declares War for Oil" (which is actually about keeping trans fats out of their products.) Supposedly they believe that Americans will get the joke, but I honestly don't think so. They also said that they hoped Democrats wouldn't object because their packaging is blue. This seems to me to be the oddest combination of very shallow thinking and devious marketing techniques that I've ever seen. It also displays a total lack of understanding of US politics. I think McCain Foods needs to get a US advertising agency if they want to reach the US market. It's obvious that their present advisors are somewhat... lacking?
I can't remember in my lifetime seeing any commercial product that tried to ride into popularity on the coattails of a political candidate. Well, maybe one, but Jelly Belly's overpriced jelly beans really didn't come into national prominence until after Ronald Reagan had been in office for a while. I can't remember them running advertising during the election campaign that tried to take advantage of Reagan's fondness for their product.
