Hotcards, Full Color Printing In The Nation

Republican red, eco green, and everything in between.

John McCain gave a speech last night that is being called the kickoff to the next phase of this election season. It was also the clear kickoff to a new phase in McCain’s election campaign print designs, and the results are…interesting.

The McCain camp has gone from militaristic black and white to brilliant, full color printing and web design. If you check out McCain’s homepage, you’ll find just about every color in the rainbow represented. Again.

Yes, again. Remember waaaaay back in the beginning of the primaries, when McCain was so far behind that his campaign seemed like a lost cause? Then, his design team pulled a similar switcheroo, taking his color palette from Darth Vader to Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. As McCain’s campaign got on track, however, it slowly slipped back into the more stylized monochrome.

And now the McRainbow is back, looking for all the world like the colors used by John Edwards’ election campaign printing during his brief bid for the Presidency. The new dominant hue, however, is a rather unfortunate shade of green.

Already the media is happily shredding McCain for his use of an all-green background at his speech last night. And while it’s true that the background did little for the Republican nominee’s pasty complexion, I’ve got to hand it to him, he’s no fool.

If the next phase of this campaign is going to be defined by the candidates’ positions on the environment, then why not jump on the green full color printing train before anyone else can get to it?

Washed out as he may be beside his green printing, McCain has effectively stolen one of Dem politics’ favorite subjects out from under its nose. And that’s not the only thing the campaign is doing to position the candidate as the best choice for moderates the nation over.

The new slogan for McCain’s election campaign printing is “A leader we can believe in.” The line is an obvious response to Obama’s “Change we can believe in,” slogan. So fine, we get it, the Republicans are ready for a fight, but writing copy that defines your campaign in relation to your opponent is never a good idea.

However, just so that we won’t forget who we’re talking to, McCain’s campaign has also rolled out a new election campaign print design around the keyword, "HONOR." It is, I suppose, being pitted against Obama’s big keyword, "PROGRESS."

It seems that while the Dems are talking about what they can do for the country through their full color print designs, McCain’s campaign is focusing on what he offers as a candidate. "A Leader," as opposed to "Change." "Honor," as opposed to "Progress."

While I don’t think this second strategy is particularly wise, the campaign’s appropriation of the eco theme was devastatingly crafty. I look forward to seeing how Obama’s campaign, er, I mean, the eventual Dem nominee, will respond.

All images © M Styborski, All Rights Reserved.