transcendence through...pepsi?
i know i know, i’ve been far too lax in this new year on my posting habits. i guarantee it’s for no reason other than having an incredibly full schedule. however, this is truly a rare occasion since my second class was canceled…i’m not thrilled being stuck sitting around for four hours before my third class, but it’s given me some time to reflect on the upcoming inaugural event…that’s right kids, it’s dangerous when i’ve been given the chance to let my mind run wild, and here’s the latest nonsense it’s come up with.
i was bored – as always – in my american foreign policy class this morning and i started to wax a bit about the impending obama administration when it dawned on me…obama is indeed a brand in and of himself. alright, so maybe the epiphinal moment didn’t occur over the course of an hour and a half, but the idea festered a bit more than usual.
i nerdily watched the frontline special “the persuaders” which casey had shown our PR class last year and started to apply theoretical concepts presented in the special to stuff i’ve noticed fairly recently, obama being one of the outstanding ones. not to come off as cynical, i’ve noticed a fair trend not only amidst the “general public” (shh! don’t tell my new PR professor i said that, i’m supposed to erase it from my lexicon…), but in the media and corporate sector as well. interesting that pepsi, not to be lost on pop culture iconography, has slightly altered their logo to nearly identically match that which we saw throughout the entire obama campaign. now, i know i’m not the first to notice or comment on this, but i’m just now getting around to mentioning it since i first saw it at the clark/lake stop on the brownline during my morning commute. however, it’s an issue that strikes a relatively high level of importance if not concern that has set the alarms in my brain off periodically.
since getting into the study of image and persuasion myself, i’ve begun to – perhaps naively – notice trends i either ignored, dismissed, or readily accepted myself in the very recent past. the lines that divided the commercial and political world are so blurred that they may as well not exist at all. generally speaking, most people would likely assess the new ad campaign by pepsi for what it is: capitalizing on a political phenom turned pop culture icon who happens to be the next president of the united states.
i’m actually far more surprised that pepsi didn’t sue obama’s people for using an altered representation of their original logo, but then again i’m not. pepsi would never want that PR blood on their hands for putting capital over hope…that’s what it’s all about. the exploitation of the obama brand that is, in essence, HOPE. unequivocally brilliant in meaning and acceptable by all who – seemingly – buy into the entire campaign. to quote kevin roberts, it’s a superbrand in that’s it’s created “loyalty beyond reason”. ask anyone in chicago why they support obama and you’ll likely get the proxy “native son” rationale, but it runs much deeper than that.
not to diminish obama’s success, i voted for him myself, but remember that as you watch the inauguration on tuesday. how will this set the tone for the remainder of his term? will we be thrust into an even greater superbranded society through avenues other than corporate ones? maybe my thoughts are a bit disconnected, but i believe that we’re in for a shock on this one. with no corporate social responsibility agreement to uphold the image of the obama brand, are we all going to become more loyal brand desciples or turn against it when a demographic need isn’t immediately met?
to put it simply, is hope enough..?
when this story broke a week or two ago, i was in the midst of a heavy workload for both my internship at 
