TV viewers can’t seem to escape Virginia Madsen these days. No, she’s
not a Hollywood bad girl being exposed and dissected by tabloid TV
shows, or the star of a new fall sitcom. Nor is she taking to the talk
show circuit to promote any feature film at the moment. Rather, the
wide-eyed, smoky-voiced Madsen, who made a splash in movies like
Sideways and Candyman, has hit the airwaves to spread the word about a
couple of seemingly disparate matters of interest to women —
encouraging them, via a public service announcement, to get involved
in the political process, and selling them, via a highly visible
multimedia campaign from Grey, on the benefits of a popular, wrinkle-
combating drug. Allergan, manufacturer of Botox, of which Madsen is
the face, partnered with the League of Women Voters on an initiative
called Freedom of Expression Through Film. Playing off the Botox
tagline, the drug maker calls the public-awareness campaign “dedicated
to voter education and self-expression.” Madsen played a major role.
Beyond the PSA, the actress crisscrossed the country on a 10-city tour
this summer on behalf of the 88-year-old nonpartisan League. Fighting
the effects of aging and inspiring political involvement would not
seem to have much in common. But Madsen ties it all together,
explaining, “It really is about the total woman. We’re complicated
creatures. There are so many aspects to us, so many different choices
we have as women today with our bodies, our minds, beauty, brains-and
one of the most important choices we have this year is voting.” In a
historic political year in which celebrity has played a starring role
— from Oprah and Paris Hilton to the megawatt impact of Obama and
Palin — the Madsen-Allergan-League partnership made for an ingenious
and increasingly common intersection of celebrity, politics and
commerce. And with our celebrity-fixated electorate engaged in the
pursuit for the White House like never before — as evidenced by
record ratings for both political conventions — it’s no wonder
advocacy groups, marketers and media brands all have sought to cash in
on that heavy consumer interest. Another high-profile, celebrity-
centered link-up encompassing politics, marketing and civic awareness
was initiated by Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan voter-registration
group founded by legendary TV producer Norman Lear. Its eye-catching
campaign to encourage voter involvement roped in A-list young stars
like America Ferrera, Zac Efron and Jessica Alba, whose arresting,
duct-tape-bound image got tongues wagging when it rolled out a couple
of weeks ago. “The celebrity involvement this year is more intense,
more visible and more pragmatic,” says Marc Morgenstern, executive
director. “They feel very strongly about this election-it’s not a
casual thing. They’re going out of their way to use their appeal to
get out the youth vote.” Corporations jumping on the Declare Yourself
bandwagon include American Eagle Outfitters, which marketed a Declare
Yourself T-shirt, and Apple’s iTunes, which featured an exclusive
cover of Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” by Sean Kingston. “Working with
partners like this gives us a bigger footprint, and that’s critical,”
says Morgenstern, whose organization reports registering some 2
million voters since 2004, about 750,000 of them this election cycle.
While those examples had civic mindedness at their core, most brands
have taken a cheekier approach. Unilever’s politically themed
iteration of the long-running “Axe Effect” campaign had Hillary
Clinton donning both Obama and McCain buttons during the primaries.
Another lighthearted entry was the “presidential campaign” of Captain
Morgan, mascot of the Diageo rum brand, who made appearances at both
political conventions after the marketer secured sponsorship rights.
Meanwhile, Miller High Life, a MillerCoors brand, had a beer delivery
guy touting his “Common Sense Party” via the Web and appearances at
sporting events and nightclubs. And the restaurant chain Denny’s
launched a “Vote for Real” contest seeking best look-alikes of the
presidential candidates. Flipping channels, it’s evident the range of
entertainment-media brands that have — along with some of the
marketers whose messages they carry — aligned themselves with this
year’s presidential contest. Forerunner Comedy Central continues to
break ratings records with its “Indecision 2008” coverage on The Daily
Show and The Colbert Report. Following suit, networks including
Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Lifetime, CMT, Spike TV and Logo have
capitalized on the public’s fascination with the campaign with
dedicated programming, candidate debates, town halls, streaming video,
user-generated content — even made-for-TV movies. Rainbow Media’s We
cable network has made a voter-registration drive (goal: 1 million
women) the center of its branding campaign, enlisting the likes of
Geraldine Ferraro, former U.S. Rep. Susan Molinari, and entertainers
Kelly Ripa, Ricki Lake and LeAnn Rimes. Sibling net IFC, which took
only a toe-in-the-water approach in previous elections, this time
rolled out news specials, audience polls, on-demand content, streaming
video, extensive primary and convention coverage, and blogs. “We’ve
never done anything of this magnitude before,” says Evan Shapiro,
president of Sundance Channel and IFC. “Our Web traffic is up, we’re
getting covered by other media and our viewers like it because it’s a
reflection of their independent mind-set.” Meanwhile, syndicated
entertainment shows — known more for chasing Britney Spears and
Brangelina than for their political coverage — also have devoted more
time to this star-studded election cycle. Access Hollywood, from NBC
Universal, found ratings gold with its interviews of Barack Obama and
his family. Ratings shot up 25 percent week over week and 30 percent
in the all important women 25-54 demo, while Web traffic jumped 165
percent. As executive producer Rob Silverstein points out, “These
politicians are the biggest stars out there right now.” Adds IFC’s
Shapiro, “Celebrities pale in comparison to the star power of Obama
and Palin. This election is high drama. It’s better than Gossip Girl.”
For Hollywood stars to link with political causes and candidates is
nothing new, of course. But that trend certainly seems to have hit a
saturation level in 2008, with Oprah Winfrey’s powerful endorsement of
Obama as the tipping point. The question-for the political parties
marketing their name-brand candidates as well as brands and
nonpartisan groups aiming to take advantage of the spotlight-remains:
Is a celebrity’s involvement good, bad or inconsequential? A cause or
a campaign with a big-time star on its side can most assuredly raise
money, draw crowds and generate buzz, but there can be a downside. “If
you use celebrities in your campaign, you’ll be tarred as an elitist,”
explains Howard Bragman, CEO of the public relations firm Fifteen
Minutes and author of the forthcoming Where’s My Fifteen Minutes? That
is especially true for a superstar like Obama, who has attracted the
support of a range of Hollywood heavyweights, including Steven
Spielberg, Barbra Streisand and Ben Affleck. Therefore, Obama, says
Bragman, has had to be “appropriately cautious, knowing that it could
work against him.” Still, others contend that at the end of the day,
celebrities have little real influence. “There’s not a lot of
evidence, historically, to show that celebrity endorsement has an
impact on how people vote,” says Darrell West, political science
professor at Brown University and author of Celebrity Politics. “Most
people in middle America and elsewhere look to celebrities for
entertainment, not for advice on presidential politics.” T.L. Stanley
is a frequent contributor to Special Reports. She can be reached at
tlstanley8@yahoo.com.
NEW YORK Though most experts say there wasn’t a clear winner in last
week’s presidential debate, Barack Obama crushed John McCain — on the
search ad front, at least. So says
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NEW YORK Though most experts say there wasn’t a clear winner in last
week’s presidential debate, Barack Obama crushed John McCain — on the
search ad front, at least. So says
Who would have guessed that the next generation of CMOs would need an
in-depth understanding of a trade that goes back to the days of
Benjamin Franklin?
Next year will undoubtedly be full of further surprises for the
world’s marketers, with changes in political leadership both in the
U.S. and other world markets creating challenging environments for
businesses of all sizes.
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