PPB September 2019

BRANDABLE ‘I Wrote e Damn Bill’ Merch To Support Bernie Sanders Politics dips its toes into promo to garner support for the Democrat’s second-run for presidency in the 2020 campaign. Political campaigns are huge promoters of promotional products, particularly products adorned not with a logo or candidate’s name, but with a punchy quote or one-liner. Recently, this took shape with a promotional sticker produced shortly after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders discussed health care and Medicare during the July 30 presidential primary debate, hosted by CNN, in Detroit. During the discussion, according to Vox , Sanders stated: “[Union members] will be better because Medicare-for-all is comprehensive—it covers all health care needs. For senior citizens, it will nally include dental care, hearing aids and eyeglasses,” to which presidential candidate Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan replied, “But you don’t know that, you don’t know that, Bernie.” And Sanders responded with the now-famous statement, “I do know it. I wrote the damn bill,” which was followed by roaring applause from the audience. Within seconds, the video went viral. Before the debate ended that evening, the Sanders campaign started offering “I wrote the damn bill” stickers, presenting the sticker in exchange for any donation amount. It’s anticipated that his campaign will soon offer t-shirts and other merch bearing this memorable one-liner. SELLING POINT Bud Light Draws Inspiration from ‘StormArea 51’ After breaking 51,000 retweets, the company creates black and green-themed beer cans with an alien emblem. Aligned with social media trends, namely the growing population of two million Facebook users who are pledging to “Storm Area 51” and unearth the aliens suspected to be housed there, Bud Light approached the craze offering none other than beer—to both customers and “the aliens.” In a July 17 tweet, which revealed an Area 51 Special Edition of its beer cans featuring an alien theme, Bud Light wrote: “We’d like to be the rst brand to formally announce that we will not be sponsoring the Area 51 raid.” But a quick follow-up tweet included: “Screw it. Free Bud Light to any alien that makes it out.” The company shared the alien-themed beer can design on Twitter, which was originally intended as a joke. The tweet pledged that if the post reached 51,000 retweets, the company would, indeed, produce the themed beer cans—and so it did. To remain on trend, Bud Light also temporarily changed its Twitter pro le to re ect the black-and-green alien theme of its cans, which has since returned to the company’s traditional blue. A banner running across the top of the beer cans read “Greetings Earthlings. This is the famous Area 51. We know of no space beer by any other life form which is brewed and aged to be more refreshing. Our cryogenic aging produces a light-bodied space lager with a fresh taste, a crisp, clean nish and a smooth drinkability. Take us to your leader … for drinks.” Also included was text reading, “The universally renowned Bud Light space beer” and “We come in peace.” 68 | SEPTEMBER 2019 | THINK