I am worried John McCain will bomb my goats…

Two excellent virals caught my attention this week – both motivated by the impending US election.

 

The first is a remake of the classic “Wassup” Budweiser advert and is a good example of a traditional-style piece of advertising spreading through viral means.

 

 

The second might more properly be called a viral – it pretends to be a news report on the US election and can be customised so that it blames you personally for the republican victory. Expensive, but very effective…

 

 

Obama McCain fight out communications master class

The race for the Democratic candidate for the Presidency now looks to be over and I personally look forward to the fight ahead. But whichever way you lean, as a communications professional, the Obama-McCain race is set to be a fascinating case study in communications strategy. For example, top of the list of objectives for Republicans has got to be neutering Obama’s USP – the Democratic agenda for change.

So how has McCain gone about it?

As reported in Newsnight, McCain said the word ‘change’ no less than 33 times during a recent speech, and this simple mantra is worth spinning out in order to achieve the goal. As a 72 year old, taking on the mantel of the previous Government, surely no-one believes that McCain really stands for real change? But in terms of the way that McCain communicates, that’s by the by.
The Republican’s clear strategy here is to diffuse the power of Obama’s message – if both candidates keep banging on about change, then it becomes hard to differentiate on the matter between the two. And then once the notion of change has become eunuch, McCain can step up to talk about his experience and record.

So in my books, McCain wins the first round in communications strategy. But only on points. In our business, this is one to watch.