Hillary Clinton as a lifestyle brand? Don't roll your eyes too soon
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Version 0 of 1. Oprah. Martha. Hillary? In Hillary Clinton’s latest push to activate female voters, the campaign launched Women for Hillary this weekend which, in addition to promoting an explicitly feminist platform, seems to try to position Clinton as more than just a presidential candidate, but a lifestyle brand. Supporters are encouraged to hold house parties and volunteer for Clinton, but will also receive a “Thx Box” - a campaign version of BirchBox, the home delivery subscription where women get carefully curated beauty products sent to them once a month. In this case, though, supporters will get household products that Clinton likes and uses (as well as campaign merchandise of course). People who order a Thx Box will even get a bitmoji of a pink pantsuit. It’s a shrewd move to connect with voters and humanize Clinton - especially in light of recent low poll numbers. But there’s an awful big difference between wanting to vote for someone and wanting to be like them. Do women really want to be Hillary? I’m going to say yes. The constant barrage of sexist hate that Clinton faces will make young women voters more sympathetic to her, her cool grandma texts-from-Hillary online presence has been organic but smartly cultivated, and the female cultural icons of the moment - cough, Beyoncé, cough - are powerful. And what’s more powerful than the first female president? That’s not to say that the move won’t get its fair share of eyerolls. A lot of people love to hate on Clinton - almost as much as they love to deride traditionally female endeavors. So a box of household products from Clinton is perfect fodder for sexist diminishment. If the Thx Box seems a far cry from the 90s Clinton who scoffed at cookie-baking, consider that it’s being launched at the same time the campaign is making their feminist platform even more explicit. Women for Hillary coincides with the 20th anniversary of Clinton’s famous Beijing speech when the then-First Lady declared that “women’s rights are human rights,” and Clinton seems ready to take on any and all critiques that she’s leaning too hard on women’s issues. As she said at the DNC summer meeting in August: “If calling for equal pay and paid leave and women’s health is ‘playing the gender card’, deal me in.” Besides, Clinton is hardly the first presidential hopeful to capitalize on a brand - it’s exactly what President Obama did. In 2008, his campaign raised $37m in merchandise sales alone. Conservatives hated that, just as I’m sure they’ll hate Clinton’s move to further woo women even more. The truth is that Clinton is already a brand - her history with the American public is a long one and her husband’s presidency ensured that people associate her possible candidacy with a lot of baggage. So why not take control and make the most of the feminist moment and her cultural icon status? Especially when the payoff is the presidency - though I might like an ‘H’ magazine to boot... |