We're in agreement! YES!
Posted on 04/02/2007 1:21:34 PM PDT by Bob J
We are losing the media battle for the hearts and minds of Americans over the war on terrorism in Iraq. The left controls the MSM...networks, much of cable, the major newspapers, magazines, hollywood, academia, etc. Rallies get scant coverage, positive developments in Iraq get spiked and the news is ALL BAD. They are never going to report fairly until they have elected a dem as President, and then it will be too late.
Now we're never going to convince the hardcore lefties or committed dems who will support anything, no matter how much it hurts the country, as long as it helps elect dems to office. We don't need to convince those of us on the right, that is just preaching to the choir and a waste of resources.
If we want to change the course of public opinion we need to reach those middle swing voters, independents and leaning pubbies who supported the war at the beginning but are now "going wobbly" as Margaret Thatcher might say.
The only way we can reach the public is by going around the MSM. This doesn't leave many avenues but there is one...outdoor advertising. While we don't have the money to rent thousands of billboards (yet) there is one thing we can do in the next 18 months that could be very effective...bumper stickers.
BS are traveling billboards and each one can create hundreds of impressions a day. Getting 100k or 500k or even 1 million BS's out on cars before the next election might help turn the tide.
1. The goal - Reshape majority opinion on the need to stay the course in Iraq.
2. Target - Independents, right leaning dems, swing voters and wobbly pubs and conservatives.
3. Method - Create millions of impressions each day that impact people on the need to defeat terror in Iraq and to support the Iraqi people in their efforts to create a funtioning democracy.
We need to create BS "slogans" that our targets will go "hmmm" at. They can't be in your face, they can't be overtly political and they absolutely cannot make them feel like they are traitors or are being accused of not supporting the military. If that is the impression created we'll lose them before we even get a shot at them. Many if not most of these "targets" DID support the war at one time and DO feel they support the military, but the left has been effective in co-opting that theme with "Yes, support the military by bringing them home", so it's impact has been diminished. This isn't saying supporting the troops isn't a noble cause and those efforts should be terminated, as it's important for our soldiers to know they have our support. But this media effort is not targeted at the military.
So, put yourself in the shoes of someone who at one time supported the effort in Iraq and maybe now has changed their mind. What could we put in a bumper sticker that might have them saying to themselves "Hmmm, I didn't think of that", or "I think that's right".
Please keep in mind brevity is critical to success in people seeing and understanding the message. The rule of thumb in marketing is you have 3 seconds, at best, to get your point across.
NOTE - We haven't come up with a plan yet on distributing the BS. The idea is still in it's conceptual stage, but all suggestions are welcome.
Fight There or Fight Here...
Hi Beach!
“Never, Never, Never Quit.” -Winston Churchill
I think we have a winner.....
“The question is do we fight them over there — or do we fight them here”. — Tommy Franks
Congratulations! There are a LOT of truly great suggestons here! I especially like the idea of a coordinated group/series of stickers (by color? font/style) so people can pick them out. Please keep me on the ping list if you have one so I can order some. My car is old and scratched; I’d never know if someone keyed it. :-)
We're in agreement! YES!
"GIVE TERRORISM A CHANCE, LEAVE IRAQ"
Terrorism there or here...Your choice!
I LOVE this idea! I have long been an advocate of bumper stickers that aggravate liberals...much to my teenagers’ disgust. In fact, I’m forced to buy the magnetic kind so that I can take them off when my kids ride in the car. But when I ride around by myself I slap them on there and revel in the shocked or disgusted looks - or sometimes laughs from the people behind me. Currently I have 2- one that says “The party of cut & run (with a picture of a fleeing donkey) and the party of search and destroy (picture of an elephant with a gun-like trunk)” and the other “The Good (picture of pubbie elephant), The Bad (dem jackass), The Ugly (picture of the Hildebeast). I LOVE that one - I think it’s hilarious. I think Mark Levin, my hero, would approve. I also love the sour and dismayed looks I get. Suck it up, dems. Anyway, I intend to get some new ones from the ideas posted here...if anyone has a good source I’d appreciate knowing that as well, especially for the magnetic kind. My kids don’t understand why I have this obsession for bumper stickers - I tell them I’m trying to educate - or reeducate the idiot liberals, or at least the people who don’t pay attention to what’s going on, to give them something to ponder. I hope it works. Didn’t last election, but I did my small part!
And the children shall lead them. What an astute observation.
Use a shotgun on the person that keys your car, ma’am.
Thanks Selene!
Thanks Think. Remember, they have to fit on a bumper sticker though!
Good idea!
True.
I like te idea of using Lennon’s “imagine”.
How about...
Imagine
There’s no Jihad
Getting there. We have to remember that to people who have flipped, retreat IS now an option. We have to tell them WHY it should not be an option.
Some variation of that message will definitely be included.
Yes Joy, if they have a distinctive color/font and people notice different sayings, they will start looking for them.
I’m thinking black on yellow. The yellow blackground can be spotted from far away, is something that grabs your attention and black/yellow is the “caution/danger” combination.
As for font, better to stick with something easy to read like helvetica.
The problem with the “reverse psychology” slogans is if people don’t have the time to read the whole thing, all they may see is “Leave Iraq”. We don’t want to do the left’s job for them.
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