Marketing Hope in the Presidential Election is Still a Good Idea.

Once upon a time in America, well, just four years ago actually, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle made an appeal to the people:

“For a change, do not vote out of fear, but rather out of hope.”

It was a nice idea at a good time.  People wanted to hope there was a better way.  We wanted to forget about 9/11 and the terrorists.  We wanted to turn the economy back around.  We wanted to hope.

Earlier this year, The Guardian (a leading British news journal) said this about Americans: “The year 2011 will be remembered as the time when many ever-optimistic Americans began to give up hope. President John F Kennedy once said that a rising tide lifts all boats. But now, in the receding tide, Americans are beginning to see not only that those with taller masts had been lifted far higher, but also that many of the smaller boats had been dashed to pieces in their wake.”

So, here we are just two months away form the presidential election.  And by all accounts, there are more undecided votes than at any previous time in history.  And some might conclude from this that we have all given up hope.

But I would suggest that the American people have not and never will give up hope.  I would suggest that we are as hopeful as ever.  We are simply waiting for a candidate – either candidate – to give us something to believe in.  Tell us something that we can nod our heads at and say “yes!”

Tell us how you are going to create jobs.  Tell us how you are going to improve education.  Tell us how you are going to bring peace to the world.  Don’t tell us you are going to do it.  Don’t tell us how the other guy can’t do it.  Tell us how you are going to do it.

I hope you can.  I hope you will.  I hope.

Jim Sweeney

CEO & COO

Jim is a veteran of the agency industry and the founder of Sweeney. He is uncommonly passionate about the idea of creating and implementing insanely great marketing campaigns that achieve insanely great results. He pioneered the full-service, full-circle agency model and continues to forge new ideas in an ever-changing industry. And he is accessible to everyone about anything, seemingly all the time, serving as a mentor to all agency personnel and clients.