BUSH IS A FORD

So says communication and advertising consultancy WPP. They did a survey involving 1,262 internet users (which reportedly is based on a representative sample of American voters) asking which brand associations they have of the two candidates

The Asian Wall Street Journal (no link available) reports that Bush supporters associated Bush with Bud Light and Kerry with Heineken, while they associated Bush with Ford and Kerry with BMW. Bush supporters think he is the market leader Wal-Mart, while Kerry supporters consider Bush the Chapter 11 ensnaggled K-Mart.

Among undecided voters the breakdown is as follows:
COFFEE: ------- Bush – Dunkin Donuts ---- Kerry – Starbuck's
TECHNOLOGY: Bush – IBM --------------- Kerry – Apple
AUTO: --------- Bush – Ford --------------- Kerry – BMW
RETAIL: ------- Bush – K-Mart------------- Kerry – Target
FAST FOOD --- Bush – McDonald's --------- Kerry – Subway

The AWSJ says the authors of the study argue that Bush's brands are seen as “old reliable” choices while Kerry's are seen as eager to take on established competition, “they present upside potential, but could be viewed as risky and unproven.”

The study concludes that Kerry will have a slight advantage over undecided voters as his 'brand' “can be equated with those that 'occupy newer, more solid territory'.”

As the WPP chairman is a Kerry backer, I detect a bit of bias in the fact that Peugeot or Renault wasn't given as an option in the automotive section. Still, this isn't the kind of study that anyone should – or does – take too seriously. It's one of those throw-away stunts that larger consultancies occasionally put together to create a bit of free publicity (which makes it suprising that Google isn't yet showing any results).

It also doesn't provide any real insight on the candidates or answer any real important questions. Like which candidate is associated with Marvel and which one is associated with DC.