Popular culture is often considered a zero-sum-gain for most elections - Chuck Norris endorses a Republican, Whoopi Goldberg endorses a Democrat, it all comes out even in the wash.
However, that wasn't the case with Obama. In 2008, popular culture played a significant role in his election (both in beating Hillary, who simply couldn't match Obama's cool-factor endorsements, and in beating McCain).
I liked Obama, but as those who read my blog know, I think his goose is cooked. As such, from a PR perspective I'm paying attention (out of pure curiosity) to how the messaging landscape is playing out when it comes to Obama. I think it will be fascinating to pay attention to the changes in public sentiment and opinion, both for better or for worse, and the variables associated with those shifts.
On the popular culture front I watched a video today that to me confirms that the Obama brand is dead in the water. Below you'll find a rap video by a rapper called M1. I've also included two popular music videos associated with Obama's 2008 campaign.
The dramatic change in tone is not hard to miss.
Now some will say that this doesn't reflect a confirmed trend shift. And I would agree with you to a certain degree.
Here's what I take from this. In 2008, trashing Obama in the rap industry was off limits. From what I can tell it simply didn't happen. It would be career suicide for a rapper to be anti-Obama, especially when musicians and artists (especially rappers) were coalescing around him and influencing popular opinion (especially among the youth).
The pro-Obama songs influenced the youth to such a degree that I remember stories back in 2008 talking about youth begging their parents to vote Obama (and how many Dem parents did cast their vote for Obama over Hillary because of how passionate their kids felt - I'm sure parents were happy to see their kids so excited over a presidential election for the first time ever).
So music matters alot. There's a reason large-cap companies use rappers (and other musicians and artists) to endorse and market their products... because people are listening to said artists. Art plays a HUGE role in defining American culture (up here in Canada less so).
While the election may be 14 month away, it's important to note that artists are writing their music now and releasing their albums over the next year. So if black artists begin an anti-Obama trend, there simply will be no time to react or reverse it.
It will be interesting to see if this is just a one-off event or a trend that develops. One thing we know for sure, this kind of song would have been career suicide for any musician in 2008. It will also be interesting to watch whether this video goes viral, it just hit and has only 200,000 views, we'll have to wait and see if it starts getting up in to the millions of views.
Sept 2011 (note: music begins at the 50 second mark)
2008
However, that wasn't the case with Obama. In 2008, popular culture played a significant role in his election (both in beating Hillary, who simply couldn't match Obama's cool-factor endorsements, and in beating McCain).
I liked Obama, but as those who read my blog know, I think his goose is cooked. As such, from a PR perspective I'm paying attention (out of pure curiosity) to how the messaging landscape is playing out when it comes to Obama. I think it will be fascinating to pay attention to the changes in public sentiment and opinion, both for better or for worse, and the variables associated with those shifts.
On the popular culture front I watched a video today that to me confirms that the Obama brand is dead in the water. Below you'll find a rap video by a rapper called M1. I've also included two popular music videos associated with Obama's 2008 campaign.
The dramatic change in tone is not hard to miss.
Now some will say that this doesn't reflect a confirmed trend shift. And I would agree with you to a certain degree.
Here's what I take from this. In 2008, trashing Obama in the rap industry was off limits. From what I can tell it simply didn't happen. It would be career suicide for a rapper to be anti-Obama, especially when musicians and artists (especially rappers) were coalescing around him and influencing popular opinion (especially among the youth).
The pro-Obama songs influenced the youth to such a degree that I remember stories back in 2008 talking about youth begging their parents to vote Obama (and how many Dem parents did cast their vote for Obama over Hillary because of how passionate their kids felt - I'm sure parents were happy to see their kids so excited over a presidential election for the first time ever).
So music matters alot. There's a reason large-cap companies use rappers (and other musicians and artists) to endorse and market their products... because people are listening to said artists. Art plays a HUGE role in defining American culture (up here in Canada less so).
While the election may be 14 month away, it's important to note that artists are writing their music now and releasing their albums over the next year. So if black artists begin an anti-Obama trend, there simply will be no time to react or reverse it.
It will be interesting to see if this is just a one-off event or a trend that develops. One thing we know for sure, this kind of song would have been career suicide for any musician in 2008. It will also be interesting to watch whether this video goes viral, it just hit and has only 200,000 views, we'll have to wait and see if it starts getting up in to the millions of views.
Sept 2011 (note: music begins at the 50 second mark)
2008
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