Obama wants you to go back to school.

Well, I didn’t get a phone call about it or anything. But I have seen a lot of ads saying so, and as we all know, advertising is always truthful and accurate. Seems he especially wants you to enroll if you’re a single mom. And, if I make an inference, he would prefer that you attend an unaccredited online program. Maybe you can finish that bookkeeping correspondence class you started. The leader of the free world demands it. Jump on the bandwagon!

Or…. Don’t.

Whether such an idea is endorsed by the President has little to do with you or your own life, but you’d never know it from the glut of advertising seeking to capitalize upon a wave of sentiment. The problem is, sentiments change, especially those related to politicians. Either way, there was a lot of good marketing strategy employed by Obama’s team, so there are a lot of people who would presume that the benefits can easily be co-opted. But that kind of marketing isn’t true to a brand, and it is fraught with risk as opinions and trends related to the original brand shift. Even more ironic, with the advent of context-based online advertising, many of these Obama-commandment-from-high ads will likely appear on news stories noting declines in his own popularity and polling. Big oops!

Some of the connections are more subtle. Obama’s campaign also employed an excellent consistency in visual and graphic design. Not much on graphic design? Just employ their skills! Seems those soft blues and utilitarian fonts are showing up just about everywhere!

 

And given the campaign’s mastery of sloganeering, why invent your own? Just make sure to work in the word “change” as often as possible. But the downside is the same as the upside—things do change, whether you’re on board with it or not. Opinions change. Ideas change. Trends change. And when they inevitably do, there is a storm of volatility and conflict. When trying to capitalize on a visceral reaction, it’s helpful to remember that it’s as likely to get a visceral NEGATIVE reaction as a positive one.

Copying a leader isn’t leading. It’s following. Unless you’re ready to throw in your lot with someone whose own story isn’t finished and whose legacy is far from written, it might be better to come up with your own strategy. I could tell you, “Yes you can!” or “You’re the one you’ve been waiting for!” But the biggest ideas to change your life never did come from the White House, they come from your house.

Jared A. Chambers