Two-Way Look at America's Brand Changeover

Good riddance 2008. Bring on January, named for the two-faced Roman god linked to ends and doors. This god gave his name also to the janitors who keep our doorways clear.

Dead-ends are what we see all around in Mumbai in the surprise U.S. hit Slumdog Millionaire. The story is about the persistence of hope in the "slumdog" Jamal (did the appealing actor playing the young Jamal remind anyone else of photos of young Barack Obama in Hawaii and Jakarta?), who grows up in a poor part of Mumbai, watched over by his mother until she is killed. We see Jamal when he is older, a lowly chaiwalla worker, never having given up hope of getting his girl, and going on the Millionaire show to do it.

A door opens for the United States on January 20, when Brand America comes under new management. My friend Patt Cottingham, a branding expert with Genuine Imprints , has created a year-end image of the changeover, a two-way look at Goodbye and Hello.

Patt's two-way look is a powerful image, told, like all history, from the perspective of the winning party. The backward look is full of specific ills. The forward look is mostly about our wish for better. Like Jamal at the end of Slumdog, our President-elect has won - fair and square - command over huge resources. Getting as far as he has is an amazing victory. The President-elect now faces multiple wars and a frozen economy. He has our collective hope that he succeed, and that's a lot.

Comments

[anniep5]

This brilliant graphic shows how we are moving away from fear and disrespect for those people - individuals, groups and culures, that are different from what we think of ourselves. Even better, it shows us moving into a new experience of respect for others and the earth. It is a new, deeper step into diversity and seeing how diversity truly supports us.

[Maria430]

Patt's visual does a great job of showing the two sides of America. My hope is that Obama's vision and smarts can convince some of those on the "left" side of her visual to move to the "right." Maria K

[Parrhesia517]

I think Patt Cottingham's view of hope under the title "Reclaiming Brand America" is a perspective of our times that many people can relate to. People want to see a shift in the status quo and look to a better future. The soon to be President, Barack Obama, now has the daunting task of repairing some of the ills of our current times.

Ian Scheffer

[Nbernheimer]

I like the message of hope. It's a great graphic image. I shudder at the challenges that lie ahead, but hope is a powerful message. Speaking of brands, I hope we can reclaim our flag as a brand for respect, fairness, equality, justice, and honor through meaningful actions, both domestically and internationally.

[douglowell]

I think Patt did a fine job of depicting the atrocious state of brand America at the close of the Bush administration - the Goodbye portion. That, I'm sure, is how the world sees us for the most part.

Yet I wonder if we can paint a picture of how the world will see us going forward - the Hello part - that shows not just the aspirations of the new administration and its supporters, but reflects the view of our brand as we set about the true hard work over time required to get even a few steps towards realizing these aspirations.

In other words, what does brand America look like to the world as it begins to rebuild? Surely there will be more doubt and skepticism than represented in Patt's visual. If we think the world will perceive our brand (and this is a depiction of perception, not intention, because Bush never intended what occurred) as standing for "hope," we are setting ourselves up for a crushing disappointment. We will have to earn the meaning of "hope."

I don't doubt we will. And this is not a criticism of Patt's visual depiction of our brand, but an addendum. Obama's challenge, like Lincoln's challenge, is that the solution to our problems will neither be quick or painless. And our cold, objective honesty about how brand America is perceived will be crucial to our success.

Doug Lowell

[larry278]

How a generic, 'no-brand' new year? Why not?

[WorkingClass]

Sick of images and brands. Starving for substance. Marketing people should switch to productive work.