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Go Home Sticker Shock: Bayh?

AUGUST 22, 2008

Sticker Shock: Bayh?

BY MICHAEL CROWLEY

This story is not definitive evidence but unless people are lying it's hard to think of an alternate explanation.

One thing that makes me pretty suspicious, though: This here logo is awfully spartan and bears no resemblance to the sleek and very popular aesthetic of Obama's other campaign materials....

Update: Ambinder pronounces the sticker "too ugly" to be real, and notes that it lacks a union label. Arghh, this is like exit polls all over again. 

Update II: So much for that: It's not Bayh or Kaine. (That leaves one name of the three listed by the Times a few days ago, also starting with B....)

--Michael Crowley

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32 comments

The only thing that could top my disappointment in a Bayh pick would be graphic design that poor.

- forrestnash

August 22, 2008 at 6:46pm

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And it would appear to have no union bug, which every piece of Democratic anything is required to have.

- gemmetwinant

August 22, 2008 at 6:47pm

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Ach Gott.  Either Obama has gone insane or the media have.  I know which one I would bet on.

- icarusr

August 22, 2008 at 6:48pm

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Not a typeface we can believe in.

- primwallflow

August 22, 2008 at 6:53pm

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Silver linings: names are spelled correctly; year is accurate.

- williamyard

August 22, 2008 at 6:59pm

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I predict it's found to be a fake.  Every bit of Obama campaign collateral I've seen has his sunrise logo on it and uses a much duskier shade of blue and different font.  No way they abandoned all that this far in.

- sdemuth

August 22, 2008 at 7:03pm

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They need something pronto. They can change it tomorrow.

Also, it has to be different from the Sunnybrook Farm logo. It has to emphasize the pair's names and won't have room for stripes, won't fit with an 'O' motif.

Re the font, if you're trying to win in red states like, say, Indiana, then a fuddy-duddy font works fine. In any case, Obama's existing font has serifs, so it's hardly a big departure.

Finally, emphasizing the lettering and downplaying the cutesy farmland horizon is a way of combating McCain's very powerful, statesmanlike, grownup logo. The next iteration can be crisper, have a shadow/3D effect like McCain's, but this one's OK for a Friday night announcement/Saturday am distro.

- teplukhin2you

August 22, 2008 at 7:12pm

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Alright, Tep.  I refuse to believe that humble Indiana folk are necessarily drawn or enticed by fuddy-duddy font.

- dylanposer

August 22, 2008 at 7:18pm

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No way this is real. Tep, I hope your post is a parody.

- ralphnelle

August 22, 2008 at 7:18pm

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"In any case, Obama's existing font has serifs, so it's hardly a big departure."

Not in the marketing/branding business, are you Tep?

- sdemuth

August 22, 2008 at 7:25pm

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There is something in the lower right-hand corner of the sticker, under the "8". Is that not likely a union logo?

If they're gonna have to fly somebody to Illinois in the morning, Indiana's not far away and they could easily postpone the anncmt till tomorrow morning that way (and seem to have done so). The press is all over every "contender's" residence at this point and it would be obvious if someone left and got on a plane tonight. Of course, someone else could get on a plane tomorrow, but at this point it would be easiest for Bayh.

I wish the theory of a big name surprise with a big buildup were true (I'm one of those Hillary people who's still hoping) but it's much more likely that the campaign is just calculatingly building its contacts list with this tactic. Pretty smart but might annoying.

- nikkiwhite

August 22, 2008 at 7:34pm

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Look, I've never had high expectations for the guy. Frankly he could use more steak and less sizzle.

- teplukhin2you

August 22, 2008 at 7:34pm

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McCain to restore the Pax Americana with Times New Roman.

- Lymon1

August 22, 2008 at 7:35pm

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fwiw here are two Boston-based graphic design experts, Sam Berlow and Cyrus Highsmith of The Font Bureau of Boston, discussing the candidates' logos int eh Boston Globe. THeir bias shines through, but their instincts are pretty much spot on:

www.boston.com/.../what_font_says_change

"Obama's type is contemporary, fresh, very polished and professional. The serifs are sharp and pointed; clean pen strokes evoke a well-pressed Armani suit. The ever-present rising sun logo has the feeling of a hot new Internet company. His sans serifs conjure up the clean look of Nike or Sony. This typography is young and cool. Clearly not the old standards of years past....

"McCain uses type that is a perfect compromise between a sans and a serif, what type geeks call a "flared sans." Not quite sans and not quite serif, sort of in between, moderate, not too far in either direction. The strokes have contrast between the thick and thin, creating the feeling that the ends are going to have cute little serifs, but they just flare out a little, not forming actual serifs but wanting to. The military star centered and shadowed is a not-so-subtle touch. And McCain just says "President," as if to say he's already been elected. ... McCain has done something no other candidate has done, he uses all blue, no red - not even a dash. If we were to predict the results based on typography and design, we would pick McCain and Obama."

Me, I'd say that Obama would do well right now to avoid suggesting an association with "a hot new internet company" like facebook, a child-centered site notorious for lots of talk and no (trans)action....

- teplukhin2you

August 22, 2008 at 7:48pm

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demuth "Not in the marketing/branding business, are you Tep?"

No offense to anyone, but the old Obama logo screams metrosexuality. It looks and feels like facebook, yelp or stumbleupon.

Which is right and proper if you're a hip young internet company trying to get teenagers and 20-somethings to visit your site and post restaurant reviews or blow each other virtual kisses.

Not so clever if you're trying to convince adults over 35 that you can go toe to toe with Vladimir Putin or Ahmadinejad.

- teplukhin2you

August 22, 2008 at 7:56pm

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Ambinder: "Biden on the move!"

Hope it's Biden, but he's still not "big" enough to make this delay a smart move.  

I don't know if this was mentioned, but Slate had a thing comparing the Obama logo to Pepsi's and drawing all sorts of generational comparisons.  

- Lymon1

August 22, 2008 at 8:11pm

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Hopefully, adults over thirty-five will not be making their electoral decisions based on logos. If not, then perhaps we really can't trust anyone over thirty.

- miceelf

August 22, 2008 at 8:11pm

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Teplukin: I might agree, if I were young enough to know what metrosexuality means.  My kids have tried to explain, but I don't get it.  

My point was, that it's very unlikely that they'd switch just now, not that I approved or disapproved of their existing logo investment.

- sdemuth

August 22, 2008 at 8:19pm

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Tep, your analysis of ad font--and all media analysis projections tonight--reminds me of the Kremlinologists who used photographic analysis to explain why  Bulganin was the Soviet leader in 1955, when it was really Nikita K. They might have been right, but they were not. Sometimes you just don't know. Fuggedabout until the word comes.

- propositionjoe

August 22, 2008 at 8:21pm

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Well, when a candidate's speeches are only slightly more substantial than hip designer logos - "I also know that I love America", "A united world defeated communism..", "We are the change we have been seeking" etc -- then maybe it's time for him to worry less about seeming hip and start figuring out how to offer more substance.

- teplukhin2you

August 22, 2008 at 8:22pm

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"A united world defeated communism."

Right.  And how would *you* express that point?

The thing is obviously fake, but you keep insisting on something that makes no sense.  It's like your running away with the Drudge Report.  Are you really a scientist?

- icarusr

August 22, 2008 at 8:38pm

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sdemuth - how would they fit two names into the remaining space? They'd have to shrink the lettering to do so. Why would they want to do that?

Re metrosexuality, get someone to "friend" you (nb the syntax: haute metrosexual) on facebook and check out "their" (gender-dubious syntax: check) home page's "wall".  

- teplukhin2you

August 22, 2008 at 8:39pm

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"A united world defeated communism." - 'Right.  And how would *you* express that point?'

Well, I might rethink the point, given that about one-third of the world's population lived under communist regimes, and another third of the world, incl 1.4b Indians, were aligned with the communist bloc. Kind of stupid therefore to argue that "the world" was united against communism.

In the process of revising this dimwitted conceit I might study my host nation's history, also Europe's history, to understand that Germany and Europe, and for that matter Berlin itself, were * * * literally * * * divided in two, and that in each of those entities today there are very deep divisions on matters of substance that have zip to do with George Bush, or with any US president. I might also perceive, if I were capable of viewing things through my audience's eyes, that many of them are unlikely to be persuaded to set aside their very fundamental difference with American-led global capitalism, or for that matter, the very large internal divisions in every EU nation on core issues involving the EU itself, and that it would therefore behoove me to talk not about myself or my amazing lifestory but about * * * European history * * * and how it relates to my vision for the transatlantic alliance.

And I sure as hell wouldn't reinforce the stereotype of American egotism and insensitivity by beginning such a crucial speech with a discussion of myself and my dear old dad. Or talk about how much I love America.

I don't know how you say WTF? in German, but I'm willing to bet that this was on the lips of a large number of Obama's listeners in Berlin.

- teplukhin2you

August 22, 2008 at 9:11pm

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"maybe it's time for him to worry less about seeming hip and start figuring out how to offer more substance."

Am I the only one amused by the fact that this comment comes after a series of posts analyzing the font of an alleged campaign bumper sticker?

- AlanSP

August 22, 2008 at 9:32pm

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"how would they fit two names into the remaining space? They'd have to shrink the lettering to do so. Why would they want to do that?"

I  honestly don't know.  I'm closer to being a ballerina than a graphic designer.  But I do have a  marketing team with graphics designers who work for me, and I know that they would change fonts and logos only very reluctantly in a situation like this.

- sdemuth

August 22, 2008 at 9:43pm

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"I don't know how you say WTF? in German, but I'm willing to bet that this was on the lips of a large number of Obama's listeners in Berlin."

tep, I'm not sure why you feel the constant need to speak for the legions of people you assume Obama has disappointed.  A month or so ago you were expressing outrage on behalf of the primary supporters that you claimed Obama had hoodwinked by saying that he withdrawal from Iraq would be careful and strategically dependent on the conditions there.  Problem was that you were expressing that outrage to those very supporters, who were not the least bit surprised or disappointed.  Similar story talking about how disappointed Germans should have been.  The fact that you were disappointed doesn't mean that the people of Berlin were.

- AlanSP

August 22, 2008 at 9:47pm

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"'A united world defeated communism.' - "Right.  And how would *you* express that point?"

Well, I might rethink the point, given that about one-third of the world's population lived under communist regimes, and another third of the world, incl 1.4b Indians, were aligned with the communist bloc. Kind of stupid therefore to argue that 'the world' was united against communism."

Ya know, World War I and World War II didn't *actually* involve the whole world.  That sort of excessive literalism sounds like something that would come from Jonah Goldberg.

Re Facebook, it's not a "metrosexual" thing; it's a young person thing.  Mostly people who were in college or high school in the past 4-5 years.  Sexuality and manliness don't really have anything to do with it.

- AlanSP

August 22, 2008 at 9:58pm

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I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. I don't expect much from this man, never have.

- teplukhin2you

August 22, 2008 at 10:09pm

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"And I sure as hell wouldn't reinforce the stereotype of American egotism and insensitivity by beginning such a crucial speech with a discussion of myself and my dear old dad. Or talk about how much I love America."

And of course if Obama HADN'T talked about loving America, the Repugs would have been all over him for dissing the U.S. in front of a European audience.

Tep, your capacity to allow no exit whatsoever from the house of your judgments is quite astonishing.

- ironyroad

August 22, 2008 at 10:27pm

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Bayh out, Kaine out, Dodd out, according to the NY Times blog as of about half an hour ago.

From the Times:

___________________________________________________________________________

Senator Barack Obama began informing Democrats of his vice presidential decision on Friday, several officials said, telling Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana that they would not be asked to join the party’s ticket.

The campaign planned to announce the choice on Saturday morning.

- JosephCuomo

August 22, 2008 at 10:47pm

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The Veep will speak on Wednesday at the convention, and Obama will have a web site for the team.

Short list Wednesday speakers:  Biden, Bayh

Web sites reserved anonymously via GoDaddy: ObamaBiden.com, ObamaSebelius.com, ObamaKaine.com

The only common name is Biden....

- yukon

August 22, 2008 at 11:52pm

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CNN just said it's Biden.

- JosephCuomo

August 23, 2008 at 1:02am

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