Marketers Relish a Good Recall

Marketers Relish a Good Recall
By STUART ELLIOTT
New York Times 9/16/03

MADISON Avenue is lustily warbling a commercialized version of "California, Here I Come," rolling out humorous advertising and promotional efforts inspired by the state's recall election for governor.

The funny campaigns about what many consider a funny campaign are sponsored by familiar brands like AOL, Mentos and Taco Bell. Even some media companies are getting into the act; for example, the Game Show Network plans a special featuring 6 of the 135 candidates, which it bills as the first-ever blend of debate and quiz program.

Marketers hope to ride the coattails of major elections just as political candidates for lesser offices seek to embrace those running at the top of their tickets. The tactic, known as borrowed interest, has manifested itself through the decades in campaigns centered on mock candidacies of brand characters like Morris, the 9-Lives cat; commercials featuring actors who mimic actual candidates like the George Bushes, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Ross Perot and Ronald Reagan; and spoofs of the deadlock over the outcome of the 2000 presidential race.

There is a potential pitfall to those ads, said Judy Hopelain, managing partner at Prophet, a brand identity consulting company in San Francisco.

"This could be seen as trivializing something that is actually pretty serious, the importance of the election of a governor of California," Ms. Hopelain said.

"But the citizen in me instead of the marketer in me says it may be a good thing," she added, "because anything that gets more people involved in the political process is a good thing."

The ad hoopla is continuing despite a ruling yesterday by a federal appeals court that postponed the election, which had been scheduled for Oct. 7. The marketers are so far taking their cue from the candidates, who are still campaigning because the ruling was stayed a week to allow time for an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

"Advertisers are having a good time with this, just as everyone else is," said John Diefenbach, a partner at TrueBrand, a consulting company in San Francisco. "With all the big problems to worry about these days, we have so little we can have fun with. This is a free shot."

Anything that plays up California's reputation as a mecca for the offbeat and oddball, Mr. Diefenbach said, offers marketers an opportunity.

"It's what we call fulfilling a known expectation," he said, adding that he thought it would not be the same if the recall were happening in another big state like New York or Texas.

• Perhaps the most elaborate campaign is the one for the Game Show Network in Santa Monica, Calif., which is owned by the Liberty Media Corporation and the Sony Pictures Entertainment division of the Sony Corporation.

"We're trying to be more topical and more a part of pop culture," said Michael Sakin, senior vice president for sales and distribution at the network. "And politics is much like a game, so the recall has found its way onto our schedule."

Among the six candidates agreeing to take part in the network special on Oct. 1 ?- to be called "Who Wants to Be Governor of California? The Debating Game" ?- are the former sitcom star Gary Coleman and the pornographic film actress Mary Carey. After the candidates take part in a quiz with questions about the state and the race, they will present their platforms to voter-viewers, who will weigh in on the network's Web site (www.gsn.com) and pick a winner. The prize: a campaign donation of $21,200.

Mr. Sakin is limiting commercial time on the special to four minutes, which is being sold to four advertisers. Three have already signed, he said: the H. J. Heinz Company, for its Smart Ones line of frozen foods; the Sara Lee Corporation, for Champion sportswear; and the Universal Pictures division of Vivendi Universal, to promote a coming film, "Intolerable Cruelty." A fourth advertiser, either a computer company or a consumer electronics retailer, is expected to be announced this week.

Another marketer broadcasting its recall spoof nationally is AOL, part of AOL Time Warner, which is running a television commercial featuring Jesse Ventura, the former professional wrestler who became the governor of Minnesota. The spot, by BBDO Worldwide in New York, part of the Omnicom Group, is part of a campaign to promote the new AOL 9.0 service. In the commercial, Mr. Ventura uses the search function to find a list of the recall candidates, then declares, "They'll let anyone be governor of California."

Len Short, executive vice president for brand marketing at AOL in Dulles, Va., said, "Part of the restoration of the AOL brand is to be more outwardly focused and more part of what customers are interested in."

"It's a topical way to connect with what goes on in people's lives, and topical advertising is something you'll see more of from us," he said.

Initially, "we thought we might get questions asking if we're diminishing the process," he added, but the response to date has been "very positive."

• Another bit of recall-related marketing comes from Perfetti Van Melle, the Italian candy maker, which is sponsoring a promotional campaign that links the election to its introduction of boxed Mentos mints. There is a Web site that is devoted to the tongue-in-cheek, self-declared designation of Mentos as the official chewy mint of the recall election (www.officialchewymint.com). The site is being promoted with banner ads on the site of the Internet newsmonger Matt Drudge (www.drudgereport.com).

"We don't want to underestimate the seriousness" of the recall, said Bob Howard, vice president for marketing at Perfetti Van Melle USA in Erlanger, Ky., "but a sense of humor gives you a fresh perspective."

The recall has also inspired a promotion from Taco Bell, part of Yum Brands, which is encouraging Californians to buy certain menu items to cast votes for the candidates of their choice. The results of what the fast-food retailer is calling the Taco Poll are being released each Tuesday; last week, Arnold Schwarzenegger, represented by a crunchy beef taco, led the survey.

Some eyebrows have been raised at the products selected to stand for two other candidates, both Democrats. A vote for the lieutenant governor, Cruz M. Bustamante, who is Hispanic, is represented by a chalupa. And a vote to retain the incumbent governor, Gray Davis, is symbolized by a soft chicken taco.

If the Democrats prevail in the recall, it is unlikely Taco Bell will ever become the official fast food of California.