MadMen Adman’s Pitch to the Democratic Party

I’m a lifelong adman and Democrat. I'm writing this because it makes me sick to see good people with good intentions and good ideas lose elections to bad people with bad ideas who communicate better.

My consulting partner, Jim Walker and I have spent our careers creating successful ad campaigns for companies such as American Airlines, BMW, Taco Bell, Microsoft, Coca-Cola and, most recently, SF Motors.

Before founding our consultancy, I spent eight years as an advertising consultant and co-producer of "Mad Men."

Here are four basic message-making techniques we use to build successful businesses and strong brands, along with how the Democratic Party could use them to better communicate, attract voters and win elections.

Have a bold and compelling brand promise.
Force stump speeches and ads to pass a “Let’s” test.
Make images, not arguments.
Talk and act like you understand how people feel.

Have a bold and compelling Brand Promise.

All companies and organizations exist as a promise made to the marketplace. Products and services are how they make good on their promise. And a brand is the reputation the company or organization earns for delivering on their promise.

For almost half of the last century, Coca-Cola promised to put a Coke within arm’s reach of every man, woman and child in the world. Apple promises to eliminate complexity and ugliness from people’s lives. Republicans promise voters free markets, the right to bear arms and low taxes.

Today it’s become next to impossible for most Democrats to say what the party stands for. On its website there is no simple, one-sentence mission statement; no clear promise or reason for the Democratic Party to exist.

In 1941 the Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt told the party to promise to protect four freedoms for all Americans: Freedom of speech. Freedom of worship. Freedom from want. And freedom from fear. And as long as the party made good on its promise, the American people would trust and elect Democrats.

Before WWII, about two-thirds of old Americans died below the poverty line. To free aging Americans from the fear of getting old and dying poor, Democrats created Social Security. It worked and after the War people liked it because it delivered on the party’s brand promise.

Happiness happens when expectations are met or exceed by reality.

A brand promise helps Democratic Party members and workers know what to expect from themselves, each other, the laws they craft and the programs they champion. Without a brand promise to help set expectations, nothing Democrats do will make voters happy.

Protecting four freedoms for all Americans is the "Original Recipe" Democratic Brand Promise. It’s good, easy to remember, authentic and proven.

Make every stump speech, ad, poster or call to action pass a “Let’s” test.

Businesses and organizations that tend to sell the tangible features of their products and services often fail because people tend to buy the intangible benefits they need and want.

Parties that try to sell the features of their candidates — their qualifications, resumes, and years of commitment to policies and programs — distance themselves from benefit-buying voters who want less tangible things like dignity, security and a sense of belonging.

The word “let’s” helps address this.

Putting “let’s” in front of every stump speech and call to action forces candidates out of strategy sessions where features are the focus and into the world of voters, where benefits are what matters most.

Let’s “Make America Great Again” works.

Let’s “Stronger Together,” not so much.

Let’s “Hope” — meh.

Democrats, let’s offer voters benefits they long for, and let’s write better slogans.

Make images, not arguments.

Successful businesses and organizations create images that help people see instantly the benefits of their products and services.

For years Coke was sold with an image of someone drinking from an ice-cold bottle, accompanied by the words, “The pause that refreshes.” Eventually, they dropped the words entirely and sold Coke using just the images.

Democrats don’t make images, they make arguments. Arguments go on endlessly and raise questions – the exact opposite of what images do.

As a general rule, people won’t buy or vote for things they can’t see or see themselves doing. Try to picture in your mind’s eye a “single-payer system,” “Medicare for all” or “a public option.”

Dems keeps making arguments about health care when people need an image. Picture this. Your child has a fever or your mom falls and gets hurt. You take your loved one to your doctor. You walk into the office and the receptionist says, “Can I please see your passport, social security card or driver’s license?” You show your driver’s license and they say, “Take a seat. The doctor will be with you in 10 minutes.”

People support ideas they feel comfortable with. And they don’t feel comfortable with stuff they can’t see. If you can help people picture the program and picture themselves using it, they’ll see the benefit of living with less fear.

Talk and act like you understand how people feel.

Recently, a research group called More In Common published a report called "Hidden Tribes,” one of our country’s largest-ever studies of polarization.

The report describes two groups at the ends of the American

political spectrum, each representing about 10 percent of the population. One group values strength, rules and protection from outsiders. The other values providing for all, forgiveness and creativity. In the middle are the 80 percent who are more flexible, want to work things out and describe themselves as exhausted.

In his recent column “The Rich White Civil War,” David Brooks responds to this report, saying "The current situation really does begin to look like the religious wars that ripped through Europe after the invention of the printing press.”

I don’t know what religious wars look like. But I know what a family fight feels like. And I’ve seen the distress and damage it does to those in the middle, like my kids, who feel small, powerless, afraid and betrayed when their overly protective, discipline-and-order parent and their anything-goes, caring and permissive parent get into it and refuse to back down.

Contrary to Brooks' more historical perspective, I think the current situation in America makes people feel as if they’re being forced to choose between Dad and Mom. And no matter how much they know deep down that they need both discipline and caring for, they seem to believe they're not important enough to make either party put the good of the family over their own self interests or perceived injuries.

I think I know what people want to hear from Democrats because I know for certain what people in my family need to hear from me when the family feels like it’s coming apart.

They want to hear, “We are a family. And the family is the most important thing. So we’re all going to sit down together at this table and listen to each other. Respect each other. Reach out to each other. And do better.”

Anyone who’s been there knows that’s how relationships survive tough times. It’s all you can do. And all you can ask. That’s what parents who put family above all else say to each other and their children. All we can do at this point is promise each other that we’re going to try our best to do better.

That’s what Americans are aching to hear from Democrats and Republicans. But we should say it now and we should say it loud and we should say it in a way that shows we mean it.

Democrats are the party of, “We all do better when we all do better.” Republicans are the party of leave me alone; it’s every man for himself. That's why we march and they vote.

Between now and election day, Democrats' communications should be less about getting out the vote, and more about marching together to the polls.

Picture an ad with words on the screen that read: Hey, Pussy hats and Pipe fitters. Hey, Kentucky teachers and Louisville college kids. Hey, Knee-takers and MeTooers. Let’s All March on November 6th and Let’s Do Better Together.