👕 That seems familiar...
Is it just me, or is President Trump’s campaign taking cues from Barstool Sports? In this week’s issue we’ll look at some of the Trump campaign’s merch, see how Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-Calif.) campaign bus proves branding is more than just a logo, and look at what Taylor Swift said about why she didn’t weigh in on 2016. I spent my weekend binge-watching “The Great Hack” and “The Family” on Netflix, and Yello Field Guide subscribers can read my latest on the role of political documentaries in the streaming wars.
Yours,
📊 A growing percentage of Republicans are cool with giving presidents more power
A Pew poll released last week showed a partisan shift in how Americans feel about presidential power. The poll found the percentage of Republicans who believe many of the country’s problems could be dealt with more effectively if presidents didn’t have to worry as much about Congress and the courts has risen from 14% in August 2016 to 43% in July, while the percentage of Democrats who agree has fallen from 29% to 16%. Meanwhile, a slight majority of Republicans, 51%, still believe it would be too risky to give presidents more power.
🗞️ Here’s how the Washington Post illustrated a special feature on the lives lost to gun violence
The Post published a special 12-page section in Sunday’s issue showing the human cost of gun violence. The front and back pages (above) show the 423 people who have been killed in mass shootings since Sandy Hook in 2012. The inside included a page listing the names of every person killed in a mass shooting since 1966.
🛒 You can still buy guns at Walmart, but you can’t buy this shirt
Walmart is facing calls that it stop selling firearms from the American Federation of Teachers and even some employees at three of its e-commerce offices. While you can still purchase rifles and handguns at about half of the retailer’s locations, you can’t purchase the above shirt, which was sold on Walmart’s site by a third-party vendor. After the shirt got attention online, it was no longer available. Walmart still sells plenty of gun-related clothing, however. There is a line of profession-based tees that read “Guns Don’t Kill People, Policemen/Orthodontists/HVAC Installers/et cetera With Pretty Daughters Do” as well as several NRA shirts. There’s one shirt available that reads “Action Not Prayers.”
👕 That seems familiar…
Is the Trump campaign basically just following Barstool’s lead? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump are doing a ~collaboration~ with the limited-edition “Back-to-Back Supreme Court Champs” shirt (above left). It riffs on popular “Back-to-Back World War Champs” apparel, like the tank top sold by Barstool Sports, the sports lifestyle website that runs a healthy branded merchandising operation.
The Trump campaign also sells shirts making fun of Rep. Adam Schiff that looks a lot like this Bartsool shirt making fun of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
🇺🇸 Olympic fencer kneels during anthem
Race Imboden, a 26-year-old Olympic fencer, kneeled during the medal ceremony at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru on Friday. Imboden tweeted that he knelt to draw attention to “multiple shortcomings of the country I hold so dear to my heart. Racism, Gun Control, mistreatment of immigrants, and a president who spreads hate are at the top of a long list.” A spokesman for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement they were “disappointed” Imboden broke guidelines against political demonstrations at the Games.
🚌 Branding is not just a logo
Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-Calif.) presidential campaign logo is wordy, fitting in not just her name, but her “For The People” slogan. That makes it hard to fit on a hat, or say, a bus, and still be easy to read. But as creative director Ben Ostrower, creative director of the design agency that did Harris’ branding, says, “branding is not just a logo.” Harris’ bus uses the simplified version of her logo with just her first name in her campaign color palette. It stays on brand without using the full logo.
💿 Taylor Swift on why she didn’t endorse in 2016
In her September cover story for Vogue (photographed by Inez & Vinoodh), Taylor Swift explained why she didn’t endorse in 2016. (By the way, for those of you who read the story when it came out Thursday morning and missed this part, no, you’re not crazy. A chunk of the story, including that section, appeared to be missing/inadvertently deleted.)
Swift said, “Unfortunately in the 2016 election you had a political opponent who was weaponizing the idea of the celebrity endorsement. [Trump] was going around saying, ‘I’m a man of the people. I’m for you. I care about you.’ I just knew I wasn’t going to help. Also, you know, the summer before that election, all people were saying was, ‘She’s calculated. She’s manipulative. She’s not what she seems. She’s a snake. She’s a liar.’ These are the same exact insults people were hurling at Hillary. Would I be an endorsement or would I be a liability?”
What do you think? Would a Swift endorsement in 2016 have been a liability or not? Email me your thoughts at hunter@yellozine.com.
Swift also spoke out for gender equality while accepting the inaugural Icon Award at the Teen Choice Awards Sunday, calling on her fans to, “get online, talk about it, let people know how you feel about it.”
Yello Field Guide: What if the future of journalism is just political documentaries on Netflix?
For paid subscribers: For all the programming that streaming services offer, news is one area they’re lacking. Binge-watching old newscasts, after all, isn’t exactly the best way to keep up with current events. But political documentaries are a more evergreen option. They could also be a key content component in the streaming wars. Click here to read more.
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