The Art Of The Sell

Or Clinton

Confession time: I watch political conventions, because, well, it's possibly the most naked sales pitch you will ever see this side of buying a used car. And if you don't have a fondness for an artful sales job, and by extension, artful sales people, you really shouldn't be in marketing and advertising. It's kind of like being a coach or an athletic trainer and hating sports. So I've been watching a lot of the Democratic National Convention this week, after catching a fair amount of the Republican National Convention last week. Sort of like how ad people always watch the Super Bowl ads.

The RNC, as you might have heard, was a very different experience than usual, with unconventional celebrity choices, notable moments of dissension and controversy, and a culmination in an unusually long and varied speech from the nominee. Judging from the immediate polling afterward, it provided a small but significant boost to the campaign, surprising a fair number of observers who, it seems, have run into no end of surprises in this cycle.

So far, the DNC has been much more in a traditional vein, albeit with the speed bump of placating the runner-up's supporters more than usual. Tonight's approach was particularly telling, because the sales job fell to a former president, Bill Clinton.

In a season of unprecedented experiences and moments, this was one of the more gentle ones. The former President gave a speech that would have been traditional from a female spouse with no political past, centering around their relationship and meet cute moments, or points along the way of their journey as parents... and if you weren't familiar with him before this evening, you might not even realize he was the leader of the free world for eight years while married to the candidate. To a nation that has known this political pair for over a generation, it was a fairly new approach while still following traditional patterns.

And while as a marketing and advertising professional, I admired the originality and craft, I also had the opportunity to see how it played to an entirely new demographic. My youngest daughter, recently 11, has become almost oddly interested in the campaign, showing exceptional attention to the coverage, even to the point of opting out of her usual games and distractions, and sitting still for longer than, well, she sits still for anything. With no real prompting or urging from me, because, well, I basically don't want to jinx it.

Bill Clinton's speech worked for her, not as much as Michelle Obama's, but still, she made it through the whole thing. She's very excited to hear what Chelsea Clinton says next, because she relates hard to the idea of family talking about their mom, and the idea that a mom and a grandma could be President clearly energizes her. The soft sell, predicated around the relatable human moments of buying a home, asking a girl many times to marry you, and taking your child to college -- that got her, hook, line and sinker.

And sure, she's unsophisticated, and can't vote, and might be swayed by some other pitch, because she's a kid. But on the other side of things, she's smart, understands that she's being sold, and keeps asking about what the other side might say to what she is being told. (That last part, I have to admit, makes me very proud of her.)

My gut tells me the positive and evocative pitch is a better pitch, and that you attract more flies with honey than vinegar, especially in a cycle where both candidates have big challenges to overcome. But the proof is always in the data, and we won't see that for over 100 days, when most people will have forgotten all about these two weeks.

But maybe not.

Because that's the nature of really good sales pitches. They tend to stick with you.

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