The Campaign to Elect Andrew Yang

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We're not a very politically oriented advertising agency, but there's a generally strong, positive sentiment toward Andrew Yang around our office. All of us have a great deal of respect for one another, and we all come from different political, religious and social backgrounds.

Andrew went sans tie to the first debate. His lack of neckwear caused quite the outcry.

As an advertising agency, we saw his lack of neckwear as a core component of his appeal, which as we've seen over the past couple months is quite broad.

If only the media would give him more talking time at the debates.

In any event, we decided, just for fun, to put together our version of a speculative campaign for the Yang Gang. I hope you all enjoy it.

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Unchoking America

Andrew's Freedom Dividend should be thought of and promoted through the emotional and psychological payoffs the Freedom Dividend would manifest. Emotional appeals work best in advertising, and the political sphere is no different.

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Key Strategic Advantages

Andrew has a lot going in his favor. He hasn't engaged in dirty politics, he's the most human candidate running for president – with regards to his empathy and consideration to all people and situations, and he's unbelievably likable. We're not taking any political sides, but it's not unreasonable to argue that Yang has the best chance at beating Trump in the general election. To a large extent, Yang has a lot of the dynamic that Tump had in 2016. He's a political outsider, anti-establishment and brings a completely new perspective to traditional, banal politics.

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Media Channels

We suggest a healthy mix of media channels, focusing the bulk of the budget on targeted digital ads, leveraging smart TV, social media and programmatic display,

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Breathe.

Andrew was the only candidate not wearing a neck tie at the first presidential debate. This caused a media uproar. We feel Andrew's lack of a tie is appropriately symbolic of the freedom dividend, conveying the idea of taking a breath.

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Outdoor Media

Billboards, bus stops, subways and creative building takeovers. The outdoor campaign will create a provocative emotional association with the freedom dividend, ultimately driving traffic to our website. Website traffic will be retargeted with the video stories.

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Print Media

Print will give the campaign more room for provocative copy. We will aim for national distribution in leading papers (NYT and WSJ). The print ads will communicate both the core "breathing" idea as well as the Stories narrative.

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Storyboarding the Freedom Dividend

Stories will make the Freedom Dividend feel real. More importantly, stories will be the "engine" that produces the power of positive association. The Freedom Dividend cannot remain a number. It must be marketed in a way that makes the American public understand that Andrew Yang truly understands their situation.‍

Obama won because ultimately, people felt he truly understood and felt for them.

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Story: Sunday Little League

Sarah draws in a deep breath.

The count is 3 and 2, and her Tommy is at the plate.

It’s the end of the game.

Sarah doesn’t know much about baseball, but she feels the weight of this moment.

Clinging to the chain-link backstop, Sarah’s knuckles turn white.

Clinging for life.

Tommy chokes way up on a bat that’s too big and too heavy for such a small kid.

He doesn’t know that his mother is standing right behind him.

He doesn't know that his mother quit her second job that she worked on Sunday twenty minutes ago and raced to catch the end of his game.

Sarah is sweating in her polyester suit. How out of place she must seem in her receptionist's outfit.

She feels the pitying stairs of a million mothers and fathers from the bleachers behind her.

How little that matters to her right now.

Sarah opens her mouth to say, “Tommy, I’m here my beautiful boy”.

But some deep emotional dam breaks inside her and no words come out; only tears.

But Tommy hears, and turns to the backstop.

There, he sees his mother silently rooting for him. Silently crying for him.

“Hi, Mommy”, Tommy mouths, with more understanding than should be expected of a boy so young.

His helmet falls over his eyes and he pushes it back up.

Tommy turns back to the pitcher.  

The pitcher winds up and releases a bullet that slices through the thick summer afternoon.

The ball sets sail for home plate.

Tommy swings.

Introducing the Freedom Dividend. A breath of life for everyday Americans.

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Story: The Birthday Party

Little Jack sucks in a great big breath of air.

The school bus pulls away, leaving Jack alone in the stillness of the afternoon heat.

A tear stings the corner of his eye.

Jack swipes at it with the back of his palm.

At least he’s home now, and being home is better than being in school, where he gets made fun of for being poor.

But today is Jack’s 9th birthday, and maybe that’s why the pain is worse than normal.

Just then, Jack hears curious noises coming from the backyard.

Standing in his gravel driveway, Jack squints through a prism of tears.

Jack sees.

Ice cream cake, but not just any ice cream cake. It’s the biggest ice cream cake in the entire world.

A bounce house, magic show, birthday gifts wrapped up waiting to be torn open.

Jack hears shouts of “Happy Birthday!” and “Surprise!”.

As the July sun sets behind Jack’s small home there are high fives and hugs.

There is laughter and giggles from cousins and sisters and brothers.

Now, Jack exhales. He brightens the day with a smile worth a million suns.

“Momma!”, Jack shouts, and runs into her arms.

Introducing the Freedom Dividend. A breath of life for everyday Americans.

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Closing Remarks

Working on a political campaign or even creating a speculative campaign for an individual candidate is highly uncharacteristic of our firm.

Last week, I had dinner in NYC with David Sable, CEO of Y&R, one of the worlds largest agencies. He encouraged me to do more speculative campaign work, so I guess this is what that is.

There must be a cohesive campaign, that strikes a resonant cord in the hearts of the American people.

This campaign will do that.