The State of Campaigning is Completely Unconscious
Political campaigns in the year of our lord 2025 are so boring they border on inducing narcolepsy. It’s no wonder the electorate can’t tell the difference between candidates of the same party when every single visual identity in Colorado seems to include a mountain silhouette and/or a Colorado flag. For an extra dose of homogeneity, throw in a family photo with two kids and a rescue dog in a field.
Voters have been screaming for years that they’re tired of politics-as-usual, but when that’s all we give them, it’s no wonder they stay home from the polls and recycle their mail-in ballots. Candidates who really want to stand up for their communities have to stand out in their campaigns. Campaigning-as-usual isn’t going to work anymore. And it shouldn’t.
In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson’s campaign aired the Daisy Girl 60-second advertisement exactly once. It was so jarring and effective that wasn’t just a turning point in political advertising history, it led to a landslide victory. It was so effective and had such a broad reach because after it was pulled, the press and the public couldn’t stop talking about it. It never mentioned Johnson’s opponent’s name.
That was 61 years ago. Daisy Girl herself is probably collecting the social security that Trump and Musk are threatening to cut. If we want to turn the tide, we have to make the boat take a sharp left, even if it means that some folks get dumped in the drink.
Political campaigns today need creative agencies – not advertising agencies and intern designers – to make work that’s just as jarring, just as controversial, and just as effective as Daisy. I’m not talking about muckraking or dirt-slinging, I’m talking about moving beyond traditional mailers and online ads to guerrilla live performances, 3-D handouts and short viral films that wake voters up to representation that means something and that makes the change they want to see. It might not be pretty all the time, but it will be effective.
