Repackaging Brand Thatcherism 2.0
It's hard for the average American (like me) to get British politics right. Torie? Labour? What's it all mean? Torie sounds Republican; Labour sounds Democrat. Either way, somethings going on across the pond, and it's about branding. What's the big deal? The British Labor Party Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain invited Margaret Thatcher, the onetime rival of his Labor Party, to tea at 10 Downing Street; then he went out and hired Saatchi & Saatchi, the advertising agency that helped bring Mrs. Thatcher (a Torie) to power nearly three decades ago, to handle its advertising in the next election campaign. What's the big deal is that the same ad agency that developed the winning tag line "Labour isn't working" - is now working for the Labour Party.
As the New York Times reminds us, it was just this ad which brought advertising stardom to the Saatchi brothers, Maurice and Charles, and "planted their young agency on the international advertising map." Heck, the ad didn't just plant the firm on the map, it also catapulted advertising into the realm of management consulting and law firm services.
Intriguing as it sounds, we have to remember that the Saatchi & Saatchi today is not the same firm as it was back in 1979. Since then, the firm has been purchased by Publicis and the Saatchis were disbanned in 1994 to M&C Saatchi. It's difficult though not to associate the powerful brand name of the Saatchis with all things Thatcher. To some it's difficult to understand why Publicis hasn't rebranded Saatchi & Saatchi, even after the brothers no longer have anything to do with the firm. Looking back, historical advertising aficianados will remember that political advertising in the UK is focused on print ads; TV ads are not allowed in the UK. And it was specifically the work of the Saatchis which brought political advertising (and advertising as a whole) into a higher league and respect worldwide - in part by Saatchi & Saatchi’s work for the Tories/Thatcher in the 70s. But, as to respond to The New York Times question on "How might the Conservatives, whose own party conference opened Sunday, trump Labor’s table-turning tactics?" Perhaps an idea is for the Conservatives to hire the real Saatchis.
Comments