We have already begun to think about the 2024 run for President. We are not quite sure that Joe will run again and are already wondering who will lead the Democrats to victory. We are hoping that Trump will be indicted and incarcerated by that time or at least on house arrest in Mara Lago. Florida has become the “Make America Florida” State and the scarred face of the Republican Party. Even American gangster and businessman, Al Capone, found Florida to be the perfect escape.
We have decided what the Dems need to do to win in 2024 is not just to pick the right candidate but also the right slogan. Advertising slogans and jingles are proven to have a strong influence in increasing sales. By creating that “worm in your brain” with that catchy phrase or slogan, people are drawn to it and thus buy into it. In 1979, the German psychiatrist, Cornelius Eckert, coined these tunes as earworms – the songs that get stuck in your brain. Researchers also call it “stuck tune syndrome” and “musical imagery repetition.” Most just call it a worm!
It is like a karaoke in your brain – repetition of that piece of a song, jingle, or slogan that rattles through your memory. For example, do you recall manicurist and character actor, Clara Peller? She was the “Where’s the Beef?” lady for Wendy’s. If you were an adult in the 1980’s, we bet to this day you can still remember her voice asking, “Where’s the Beef?” The message got through to the public and sales soared which increased Wendy’s annual revenue by 31% as an upshot of her commercials. To this day, memories of this ad still make us smile.
And then there were the unforgettable slogans like M&M’s that “Melt in your mouth, not in your hand;” the “Breakfast of Champions;” and the kid’s jingle of “I’d love to be an Oscar Meyer Weiner…everyone would be in love with me.” We bet that you can still hum or sing that tune. Despite this enticing ad of years ago, health researchers at the University of Michigan recently found that eating one hot dog can take 36 minutes off your life. Oh my, how times have changed!
Other slogans have stuck with us for years, for example, Nike’s “Just Do It!” or “Got Milk?” or KFC’s “Finger Lickin’ Good.” Although we do not wear Nikes anymore, don’t drink milk, or eat fried chicken, we remember those successful ad slogans. At the time, they increased sales and were successful in creating worms in our brains.
Through the psychology of advertising, people are won over to the product by sight and sound, like the Folgers ad, “The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup.” We bet most people can still sing that little tune and smell the coffee.
Our point here today is that the Democrats need to develop a worm to plant in Americans’ brains. Like that sing-songy jingle, “Nationwide is on your side.” or “Pop, pop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is.” We need a giant Alka seltzer for this country. The Dems need to attract voters to their more egalitarian thinking like the Golden Arches have attracted McDonald’s millions of customers to their Big Mac and fries.
Remember the jingle “You’ll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent?” How about to the same tune, “Don’t wonder where your country went, just vote for a Democratic President.” Now that would be a good start! A political worm would ideally be a catchy slogan accompanied by a jingle, played on TV and radio, and seen on social media and billboards. We could cloak the country with “Vote Democratic – Just Do It” or “Got Democracy?”
In a few words, we could encompass the heart and soul of the Democratic beliefs, philosophy, and intentions. We could emphasize the goal to save the country by explaining that the real steal is that of our Constitution and the American way of life. How about we start with this – “Vote or You May Get a Pig in a Poke.” We would have to explain that a “poke” is a bag and that a “Pig in a Poke” means to purchase something without having thoroughly inspected it and often with negative consequences. Just like what we got in 2016. We suggest that this would be a start – now, let’s just do it!
