The Emotional Drivers of American Politics

If you want to understand what is driving American Politics, all you have to do is watch three brand ads currently streaming across American Media.

The first of the three brand ads.

It opens up with a female in a shopping aisle at a grocery store.

She screams, “enough is enough with Apps” and throws her smart phone against the floor.

Other shoppers scream independence too and soon there are dozens of smart phones flying with self-declared statements of independence.

The ad concludes within an alternative peaceful grocery shopping aisle and smartphone absent shoppers.

Aldi is the advertiser running the ad.

Kroger and their new App couponing promotion is who Aldi is competitively attacking in the ad.

Aldi has another ad that attacks Publix and a third one that attacks Walmart.

The second of the three brand ads.

It showcases families celebrating the ending days of summer.

A snapshot of an evening picnic on the beach.

Another of watching kids play soccer.

Another of sipping coffee watching the sunrise.

And another of a diverse group of friends dining together on a screened-in porch.

The advertiser’s logo does not appear until the end of the spot.

The ad illustrates a diverse mix of family and community emotionally bonding together.

At the very end of the ad, the brand logo appears.

Publix is the advertiser running the ad.

The third of the three brand ads.

A half dozen kids are captured with their visions of the future.

Saving the planet… rescuing pets… becoming president of the universe… inventing a cure for colds… universal peace.

A brand where the drives walk uninjured after a massive car wreck.

Your purchase dollars all go to cause organizations.

Video clips from the 1960s are even featured in black & white.

Peace, love, harmony.

At the very end of the ad, the brand logo appears along with its brand “Love Promise.”

Subaru is the advertiser running the ad.

These three ads capture the current headset of the American voter base.

The Aldi ad captures an American populace that is very frustrated with the App of day-to-day living.

A lifestyle that confronts sitting in commuter traffic, managing budgets, confronting a mid-life crisis, and facing a growing sense of the ability to change it.

Parental influence might be waning and the kids becoming adults and leaving the home.

Limited avenues of job change and threats that AI will replace career roles soon.

A news media that clings to exaggerating the complexity and uncertainty of the political process and at the same time illustrating an impending collapse of Washington, Wall Street… and even the charm of Main Street.

This segment of the American populace has felt over-burdened by a monolithic system where they have lost any perceived sense of control.

And along comes a candidate … not unlike the spokeswoman in the Aldi ad… screaming enough is enough and sending the iconic symbol of a smartphone smashing to the ground.

While the destruction of smart phone certainly destroys a host of other functions and services, the sense of finally taking control far outweighs it.

Its an emotional release.

The Publix ad captures an American populace that is forming families, first time homesteads and career development.

It highlights a diversity of family units, friendships and relationships.

One setting might be grandparent and grand child… another might be a single parent and their dog… another a career mom and stay-at-home dad… another a gay couple and their kids.

It elevates simple activities as special times of emotional bonding.

A dad and a daughter making a special birthday meal for the mom.

Friends clustering together around a bon fire on a beach as featured in the current spot.

Publix is well-known for great emotional ads that focus on those scenarios and not self-promoting claims of being the largest nor cheapest nor convenient nor historic nor endowed grocery brand.

Did Publix ever lose sight and go off track … sort of having a sense of memory loss of its brand persona.

Yes. It was featured in this blog post a couple of months ago.

A brand ad ran that was very self-focused that took place entirely in a Publix store. A self-declaring ad showcasing aisles adorned with idealist products and a grocery environment.

From what I have heard, loyal shoppers voiced quick rejection to local store managers.

“This is not my Publix brand experience.”

“When I think of Publix, I don’t think of ice-skating in a park when picking up my Ice Cream.”

The ads were not only yanked, I have heard that team players creating that spot have been re-assigned and replaced.

The Publix brand comparison is nearly a mirror image of what just took place with one of the political parties.

And the Subaru ads captures the fading Baby Boomer image of Eden.

While style and design seldom are showcased, an eco-green, durable, car that will last for 15+ years and 200,000+ miles brand persona connects with a culture that lives in what some say is a self-idealized world of their own.

A culture of academics, creatives, idealists, environmentalists, free choice advocates, alternative lifestyles and off-the-grid dwellers are loyal to the Subaru brand ideals no matter what takes place around them.

There are sources that report more Subarus are found at Freedom of Choice rallies than any other automotive brand.

A week ago, Gallop released the July monthly update of political party alignment in the U.S. …

** 30% Republican

** 28% Democrat

** 41% Independent

The brands showcased illustrate the experiential drivers of the voter mindset and party alignment…

** Conventional Republicans — Aldi

** Conventional Democrats — Subaru

** Independents — Publix

No question that the Press will highlight a lot can change between now and November 5th Election Day 2024.

But very few changes will alter the public mindsets. And many of those public mindsets seldom interact with the Press.

Aldi is smart going after their competitors and illustrating complexities that can be avoided by an alternative choice of shopping at Aldi stores.

There really isn’t a system to work changes through to avoid one parking lot and venturing over to the one next door.

This past spring, I went to a spring herbal gardening event and noticed more than one individual with a Subaru tattoo located next to a Save The Planet tat and a Rainbow Flag tat.

Even when the current President was Hell-bent that he was staying in the race, there were loyalists that had no issues with staying loyal to him as a Democrat even if in four years he may not even know who icons like The Rolling Stones and Who happened to be.

EXPERIENCE works with political candidates and causes across the Southeast.

In the middle of writing this, I received a call from a North Carolina state-wide campaign chair.

The NC candidate has strong equity in being approachable and casual in dress and speaking. He currently is up for re-election for a function statewide commissioner slot.

Nearly all, but one of the candidates we have worked with in the past two years have won with campaigns driven by an Emotional Brand Experience.

There are key 2025 Trendcasts emerging and 2024 Trendcasts expanding.

My commitment to readers is to move on from politics in the remainder of 2024.

As I have said many times in the past, if you ever can carve out the time to get out of the office, your work-from-home desk and the 24/7 rambling Press and go sit in a coffee house next to a young family or groups of moms or groups of young kids and just listen to what they talk about.

You will then see just how on-track Publix is running their ads and which of the two candidates now in the race is on track to capture that other 41% of the voter block.