Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

Is Barack Obama, in fact, Jesus Christ? It seems unlikely, and to its credit the Obama campaign hasn't exactly gone that far, but the Aura of Greatness™ that's been thrust upon the junior senator from Illinois has been a bit over the top.

More relevant has been Obama's branding as an agent of change--though just how much change he's actually willing or able to accomplish very much remains to be seen. For an apparently growing number of people, the fact that he's not a Republican or a George W. Bush crony is change enough.

Which brings us to the senior (insert your own wisecrack here) senator from Arizona. Variously branded as a war hero, a straight-talker, and yes a maverick, John McCain has of late seen his own branding taken over by others who either dispute any or all of the above four images, or come up with their own: the seething, barely-in-control party hack who's basically a Bush clone.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and as we count down the last two weeks to the election, the GOP seems relatively desperate. Just in the past few days, the McCain camp has attempted to brand Obama as a purveyor of voter fraud, someone who "pals around" with terrorists, and--horror of horrors--a socialist. The only branding image that seems to stick, however, is, logically, the Teflon one.

Losing control of your brand is rarely a good thing, but having crashed the "Straight Talk Express" some time ago, McCain needs something other than Joe the Plumber and modern-day red-baiting to win back his image, though it's probably now forever tarnished regardless of whether he wins or loses.

There are many ways of repairing an injured brand, as Tylenol most famously proved a quarter century ago. Pointing fingers and lobbing insults weren't parts of that package ... but then, this is the silly season.

With some pretty serious consequences, of course.