Camelot Lost?
The myth of the Kennedy Camelot was perhaps one of the most artfully crafted and executed examples of branding of all time. With Ted Kennedy’s passing today, we have lost the last thread to the old, whimsical, romanticized vision of the Kennedy name.
And, while Teddy almost single handedly dismantled the brand in his youth, he matured into a steady patriarch who quietly upheld the brand equities throughout his long and lauded career.
It was the Kennedy’s who paved the way for a campaign like Obama’s; hung on symbolism and a vision of idealism, simplified and packaged for popular consumption.
Sadly, it seems that the Kennedy brand has been left to wallow in the inexpert hands of the next generation, as have so many carefully composed luxury brands of the past.
Goodbye Camelot, you were a lovely, sweet dream.
August 26th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
great post - while Teddy did turn into a Democratic icon, the Chappaquiddick incident will forever blight his “brand”. Difficult to forget the transgressions of youth, in spite of the achievements of the older version. We talked about brand forgiveness a year ago here (http://www.eggstrategy.com/blog/2008/07/another-chance/)
and your Kennedy post reminded me of that. I think “people brands” are the ones we’re least able to forgive, service brands come next and finally product brands probably the most forgiveable…but even then there’s a limit to how many times we’ll forgive, because ultimately it’s all about trust./