Anyone see the Dem Candidate posters in the NY Times Magazine?

[dajabr]

Some are great, some are good, some stink...

CMB: Excellent on so many levels - a keeper! (Look at Shrub! LOL!!)



Gep: I'm a "Pop Art" fan - really like it!

Kucinich: Well done - hits the right style for him.

Dean: Poster is so Dean - Very good!

Kerry: I'll let the designer describe it... "That said, I really can't stand how this thing looks. It's ugly, but it has to be." I showed it to a couple of people and got mixed reactions.

Lieberman: Awful! And the tag-line sucks too!

Sharpton: They could have done MUCH better for Al here.

Clark: Like the message and the simplicity, but the design looks like they think it's 1988 and Clark is the new Macintosh.

Edwards: Terrible. Wrong message, wrong design, wrong powerpoint presentation?

To see them all go here and scroll down to "Vote Getters" story: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/magazine/index.html?8dpc

[eyesroll]

1. My quick take:

Good: Kucinich. CMB.

OK: Lieberman (decent design, but "Conservative Moderate" just makes my stomach turn); Gep (just bizarre), Kerry (clean lines, at least), Dean (like the handwriting, but the stars and the picture are just too busy -- I like the button a lot though); Clark (I like the "pop" of the shift key, but what are we shifting? Thoughts? Candidates?)


Ick: Edwards. Sharpton.Both have the same problem -- there's just nothing there, and they don't have things to redeem them into the OK column, like Dean's button and Clark's key.

[dajabr]

6. I would hang the Gep poster in my house...

But would not encourage him to actually use it!

Dean's is helped by the written description, and I agree - the background needs work.

[Fenris]

2. Hey! Joe just gave me TWO reasons not to vote for him!

[dajabr]

3. Same reaction I had! I mean, WTF?!! (nt)

[dajabr]

7. On second look, the button is pretty good IMO...

But the poster is just bad!

[Vikingking66]

24. it's all the more idiotic...

because Bob Dylan was anything but a waffler,
and Lieberman is a total square.

[girl gone mad]

4. CMB's was...

my favorite, too!

[RevolutionStartsNow]

5. The only ones I really like are CMB's and DK's

Dean's is just okay, kind of boring

Clark's is unclear

Sharpton's and Edward's are terrible

Gep's is okay, but not particularly good

Lieberman's is hilarious, and scary

Kerry's is bad, bad, bad

[Jerseycoa]

8. Carol's the best

I liked Gephardt's, too. Are there no Gephardt supporters on DU? I don't think I've come across a single one.

[saline]

9. AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I thought all of them were horrible. I thought Kucinich's was acceptable if a little boring.

Gephardt's looks like it was designed by a seven year old girl with a bunch of magnets, I had to think who the heck the candidate was, not a good tactic.

I despise the Kerry one, I think the comparison was kind of tasteless. This is big considering I'm not a huge Kennedy fan and am rarely offended by things.

Dean's was just weird, it looked like a screwed up table cloth and has the same problem as Gephard's it's hard to take in quickly. You have to squint to see the candidate and there's little info, although thats true of most of the posters.

I don't like Lieberman but I think he might have had the best one. The silhouette and name at bottom makes it immediately clear who it is and the tag line is a good description. The wavy things may look "groovy" but it also kind of looks like he's bleeding from the head. Still I think it's the best over all work.

I was dissapointed with Sharpton's because I thought he had so much to work with. He has nothing to loose and is probably the coolest of all the candidates but the poster looks like a traditional stuffy old white guy poster. The tag line "No Strings" is a good message but I think there could be a better one. He's had so many good lines choose one of them.

You cannot sell Wesley Clark like he's a mac. He's not a mac, he doesn't identify with that kind of marketing. He's not even a computer, he's an abacus. He'll get things done, it won't be flashy but it'll be reliable and won't lie to you. I'm not trying to knock him here, I just think the poster doesn't fit Clark at all. Also, why yellow? He's a presidential candidate, red white and blue works for a reason, yellow reminds me of piss and bananas.

I like minimalism but I don't think it has a place in presidential politics. Edwards' poster is interesting but really not what I would have done. I liked that they put the web address at the bottom I think all the candidates should have done this. "Elect him. He will." that's not a slogan, it's barely literate. Edwards' is probably the most attractive (physically) of the candidates, put him on his poster.

I may have to agree with the original poster, Moseley Braun's poster is probably the best (sorry Lieberman, but you're not getting the nom anyway...). It's clear who the candidate is, what their name is and there's a message even with no words. She's different, if you want change, change like you've never seen before, well then damn, elect her.

This seems largely like a lesson in what not to do for most of the candidates.

Jeez, it seems like if you want to do something right you have to let me do it.... ;P

[dajabr]

10. These were commisioned by the NY Times...

Not the candidates (though, at leat one - Dean, contributed to their creation).

So, that being said, I like some simply for the artistic value, but if some were to be put into actual use I'd only keep CMB and Kucinich's.

[saline]

12. yeah...

I thought I kept that in mind with writing. I tried to make that point where this is an example of what not to do but my writing didn't reflect that. I wonder why NYT chose these people?

[dajabr]

15. The focus of your post was on target...

Since this is P&C and not the Lounge :-)

I was hoping we could sneek some aesthetics in here a little...

Guess they chose these designers because choosing "independant" or "underground" artists/firms would have taken guts. :shrug:

[Jerseycoa]

22. Exactly almost

"He's not a mac, he doesn't identify with that kind of marketing. He's not even a computer, he's an abacus. He'll get things done, it won't be flashy but it'll be reliable and won't lie to you. I'm not trying to knock him here, I just think the poster doesn't fit Clark at all."

Except he can show flash when he feels like it. It was too modern minimalist for a complex, greatest-gen kind of guy.

[FrenchieCat]

11. I only like CMB...

all of the others stunk....

In particular Clark's with that eraser looking thing...they have already try to make him fade...I guess now they are going to erase him or something.....over my dead body, I say!

[LatteLib]

13. Re: Dems posters in NY Times Magazine

I like Joe's button and poster other than the message. I would not vote for him because he is way too middle of the road.
CMB's poster is very imaginative and arty.
I like Al's button.
Dean's made me kind of dizzy. They can do better for him.
Gep's was like looking in a fractured fun house mirror.
Kucinich's was just OK.
Edward's poster had a good message but wasn't eye catching. The button for him sucked.
Kerry's seemed like it was too dependent on Kennedy's name and even with the parallels in initials and origin, I didn't like it.
The color yellow for Gen. Clark's poster hits me as offensive. I just don't get it or the connection. His poster should be red, white & blue. I don't know anything about Mac computers. Is yellow their signature color?

[dajabr]

14. Just reminded me of "cool" 80's advertising...

That looks cheesy now (like most anything from the 80's!).

Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[sandnsea]

16. Carol's is the best

Clark's is intriguing, Dean's is ok, the rest suck. Everything's a mess, vote for me and I'll fix it???? I really need to go on a head thumping tour around this country. Y'all better LOOK OUT!!!

[Kathleen04]

17. CMB's

wins hands down..

Gep--I like it in a way..

Dean--busy

Lieberman--well, it's cooler than Joe..

Sharpton--No strings?..uh..okay, but I do like the Sharp, Sharper, Sharpton button.

Kucinich--I like the message, but I know they can find a better picture of him..

Clark--doesn't represent Clark at all.

Kerry--don't like it.

Edwards--don't like the "he can fix everything" message, young fresh-faced guy and that's the best they can do? Also, the mauve color at the bottom is just bland.

[dnbmathguy]

18. My Thoughts

I like the Gephardt one the best, but the Sharpton and Clark ones as well.

[dsc]

19. This was a dumb thing for the Times to do

The designer they chose for Dean only listed Republican work. Many of the others listed none. CMB was really well done. The rest could have done better with in house artists. Compare Sharpton's ad for Rock the Vote to that horrid poster to site one example. I do have a disenting vote though in that I kind of liked Kerry's. The arrow through the heart was dumb but I think more than a few people would love to return to that Democrtic era and the idea was a good one. I would use a black and white photo of Kerry and type face used in the late 50's early 60's instread and done a split screen. One with Kerry in black and white and the type face and the other with him in color, modern type face, and the tag line Democratic values which are timeless.

[cindyw]

20. Here is my take on the posters.

Gep: Would have liked it better if it said Love Gep instead of Gep Love.

Kucinich: Good poster

Dean: Okay poster. When did start with the Lennon theme?

Kerry: I like it. It plays on not inly the JFK thing, but the post 9/11 thing. Remember I Love New York, More than ever. It describes how Kerry supporters come to like him exactly. The more you know the better he gets.

Lieberman: Why is he reminding us that he should be challenging Bush in the primary and not the Dems? That said, I like the design.

Sharpton: I don't get it.

Clark: Intersting idea. I don't know how it reflects his personality, but it is definitely a nice design.

Edwards: Definitely could have done better for him.

Braun: Very cool. As a woman, I nodded yeaaaaaaahhhhh to this one.

[LizW]

21. Interesting

CMB's was definitely my favorite. The contrast of her face next to those of the past presidents was excellent and made best use of her greatest feature, that gorgeous, personable smile.

Kerry/JFK...yuck. Jack Kennedy is dead and it's 2004. Sorry.

Edwards...just okay. Didn't like the button.

Sharpton...good button, so-so poster.

Dean...I like the use of his own handwriting. It connects to the "doctor" thing, uses his campaign's central slogan, and is just personal, somehow. Like the use of red, white & blue, but the stars bugged me. I kept trying to figure out what those red shapes were, and it turns out they are the background between the stars. Good button. I would buy one of those.

Clark....Aargh. Yellow? For god's sake, YELLOW? What could possibly be more wrong? Besides, I thought yellow would never be used again in advertising after the saturation of that ABC campaign a couple of years ago. Horrible.

Kucinich...just so-so. Can't remember what the button looked like.

Gephart....well, it's just adorable, but not a campaign poster. Too cute by a lot.

Lieberman...I must admit I like this one, but only because I loved the old Dylan poster. The conservative moderate/moderate conservative thing turns me off, but it's who he is.

Interesting stuff, but all in all I'm glad the campaigns didn't pay for these.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

23. I LOVE JFK more than ever!