Thursday 28 April 2011

Calm Down and Carry On

A cruel light is cast on performers at the Commons despatch box - the position demands an application of wit that David Cameron simply didn't display with 'Calm Down, Dear'. What he did, without thought, was to grab an easy meme - and Michael Winner's was an early offender from the commodified insurance brands.

Nike and Man Utd get their consumers to re-advertise them through the wearing of logos. Insurance in the UK gets its agencies to create some very clever marketing that we carry around as latent stuff in our heads, ready for re-use - without thought. Children make excellent meme-carriers - endlessly re-purposing the annoying 'Go Compare' song or the sweeter meerkats of 'Compare the Market'. But Prime Ministers? Should know better.

It may be time soon to get a little less populist and matey. Maybe to look for guidance from some of the great orators of our history. So what would Churchill say? Oh, yes. 




Note for non-UK readers: Oh, yes, Churchill is an insurance brand and the dog is a device owned by the brand. Oh yes, Dear.





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