Obama Bucks: Symbolism as Racial Stereotype

With the Presidential election over, I thought I'd revisit one of the more onerous political tactics of the campaign. This direct mail piece, now known as the Obama Bucks mailer, was created and deseminated by a California Republican group in the waning months of the campaign. It soon gained national media attention, to the embarassment of the GOP and African American Republicans. There are conflicting reports as to the originator of the design and its intent, but the propagators of the mailer (who were white), unapologetically defended their actions. Their most interesting assertion was that the imagery was in no way racially insensitive because they ate those foods themselves, and no malice was intended.

So is the depiction of an African American eating watermelon, ribs and fried chicken a racist sterotype? What about an Irishman eating potatoes? An Asian eating rice? A Latino eating a taco?

Examining the the foods separately, we know that fried chicken originated in the South during the Colonial era and a certain Kentucky Colonel packaged, mass-marketed, and popularized it starting in the 1800s. Watermelon is a fruit indigenous to warmer climates, with possible origins from southern Africa. Spare ribs, according to my research, has no ties geographically. Kool Aid was invented in the midwest during the 1920s and is a product brand owned and nationally distributed by the General Foods corporation. Fried chicken and watermelon are not exclusively enjoyed in the South, but certainly has its roots threre. To date, I've seen no data to support that one race significantly consumes more of these foods than another. Kool Aid's demographic is driven more by economic status than ethnicity. So do these symbols, individually or collectively, used in tandem with a black person, constitute racial imagery? Or is it a straightforward cultural depiction of a particular race?

The answer lies in American historical imagery. Since the early 1800s, advertising, packaging and editorials portrayed African Americans as naive, childish, superstitious, simple minded, and in many cases, alien and sub-human. In many of these depictions, blacks were consuming fried chicken, spare ribs, and watermelons. While the renditions of African Americans were exaggerated with the full intent of denigration, the foods themselves added no additional negative symbolism. But the fact that these symbols were used so pervasively as accompaniments to racial stereostypes is what gives them their potency. Their usage, with the full knowledge of their historical intent of subjugating an entire race, is the core of the issue. Using this same standard, a Jewish person eating a bagel would not solicit outrage, but propogating the historical image of a Jew sprouting horns and a tail certainly would.

The California Republicans' claim of ignorance of the Obama Bucks' negative effects is disingenuous at best. It seems incredulous that those symbols would just be randomly chosen and would coincidentally happen to be an unintentional racial insult. In a post-election televised roundable, Newsweek editor Eleanor Clift warned that the Republican Party could be turning into the party of the Confederacy, doomed to serve a shrinking constituency. Controversies like these will only reinforce that perception.

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Paul Newman and Newman's Own: Turning Celebrity into Philanthropy

Paul Newman, for many, epitomized a certain kind of movie actor: sincere, professional, passionate, determined, and humble. He was meticulous is selecting the right roles in the right films, resulting in an astounding body of work including Cool Hand Luke, The Sting, and The Verdict among many others. His fifty year marriage to fellow actor Joanne Woodward is itself an astonishing feat, given the rampant instability of Hollywood couples. Newman was an actor who became a celebrity who became an American icon.

In 1982, he extended his reputation into (of all things) salad dressing, and thus the Newman's Own brand was born. Started with a close writer friend, it initially started as a small west coast operation. Eventually, with the strength of Newman's name behind it, the company went national and expanded its product line into a wide array of consumer foods. The packaging is nothing extraordinary, just the name and primarily a loose illustration of Newman's face. Over the years, there have been additions to the face (hats, mustaches, etc.) relevant to the product or flavor, to inject humor onto the packaging.

One of its strongest brand attributes, obviously, is the fact that all profits go to charity. This national brand still maintains a small company feel through its unassuming packaging, and competes at a slightly higher price point than Ragu and Prego. Interestingly, while it was initially believed their audience would be primarily female, the brand has clearly cut across several demographic lines, including gender, age, and income. With Newman's recent passing, his daughter will continue to run the company and continue his legacy of charitable giving. With celebrity brands flooding the market every day, Sean Combs and Britney Spears have some valuable lessons to learn from Paul Newman's shining example.

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"I'm a PC": Microsoft's Commercial Turns the Tables on... Itself

Microsoft has lately followed up with their obscure Jerry Seinfeld commercial with one directly taking on the hugely successful Apple ads. The "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" campaigns are brilliant in their simplicity: individuals personify the difference between the two companies. Mac is youthful, hip and urban, while PC is older, frumpy, and conservative (adeptly played by The Daily Show's John Hodgman). The new Microsoft spot attempts to turn the tables on this idea, touting that "I'm a PC" is a positive declaration. The cameras seemingly traverse the globe, showing people of many nations and occupations that they too are "PCs" and are fine with it. The point that many people are doing significant work with the aid of their PCs is mildly interesting but no great revelation. The international aspect of it is less compelling (stick to using a PC because everyone else around the world is using it too). Perhaps most confusing is Deepak Chopra's appearance stating, "I'm a PC and a human being, not a human doing, not a human thinking. A human being." This bit of professorial esoterica adds a touch of smug elitism that seems superfluous to the overall theme. Microsoft should convince people they should use a PC for its relevance, its connectedness, and its utility. Not because it will give you a patina of intellectual superiority. In this case, it seems like parroting the competition only reinforces and entrenches Apple's positioning.

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Alaskan governor and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin: A New Face on Traditional Values

In the final sprint of the Presidential campaign, both John McCain and Barack Obama have shifted from the center to their respective poles on the right and left. I did an earlier post on McCain's difficulty to straddle to be both a moderate and conservative these past few months, and from the tone of his speech last night it's evident that he's branded himself as an uber-conservative. Even more telling is his de-selection of Joe Lieberman as his running mate (the more moderate pick) in favor of conservative Alaskan governor Sarah Palin. This has rejuvenated the Republican base, and deservedly so. She lives and breathes pro-life, pro-gun, and free markets. While the press continues to scrutinize her background (which the McCain campaign apparently didn't), there may be repercussions down the road. But in the meantime, the Republican party has a legitimate new star of their own. Palin is telegenic, personable, and charismatic, something McCain has been lacking from the onset. She could well be a new standard-bearer for the Republican brand currently in shambles. While her policies are traditional and almost nostalgic, her presentation and persona go a long way. While her qualifications are dubious, she exudes fiestiness, perkiness, and the aggressiveness of a modern professional woman (think Anne Coulter without the sex-tinged hatemongering). Her speech at the Republican National Convention drew nearly as many viewers as Obama, and contrasted against John McCain's somniferous oratory last night. Make no mistake though, Palin is the fresh new and more youthful brand of the conservative future. The question now is whether her charisma can extend beyond her own political party.

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