Presidential Nominees Evolve from Individuals into Brands

Election Day Countdown: 0.

Like many of you out there, I am excited to find out who the next President of the United States will be. It has been a long and interesting road since both Barack Obama and John McCain declared they would be running for office this year. As a young voter it has been interesting to see how both candidates have run their campaigns because voters are no longer just voting for an individual, but rather for their favorite brand.

As funny as it sounds, Obama vs. McCain can now be compared to other brand battles like Coca Cola vs. Pepsi or Microsoft vs. Apple. Ask anyone you know whether they prefer a Big Mac from McDonalds or a Whopper from Burger King and in most cases the responder will fervently tell you which brand they prefer and why.

It’s uncanny to preference of politicians isn’t it?

To further prove my point, in a recent Advertising Age article, Team Obama was selected as “Marketer of the Year,” by a group of CMOs at the Association of National Advertisers. Team Obama beat out big brands such as Apple, Coors, Nike and yes, even John McCain made the list (barely).

In years to come, will future marketing students be reading case studies on how Obama won the 2008 Presidential Election through a viral-social networking-grass roots campaign?

I guess we will find out in a few hours!