Branding Hillary

Just when I was beginning to to emerge from my post-Sopranos-withdrawal, Hillary Clinton’s camp comes out with a spoof of the most talked about TV event in years, The Sopranos finale.

FastCompany.com doesn’t like it:

"…..[I] thought it was amusing and certainly provocative but also tone deaf.
How wise is it for a presidential candidate who’s often characterized
as the ultimate ambitious politician to equate herself with a monster
like Tony? And to allude to such an ambiguous if artful ending? There’s
no avoiding one dark interpretation
in which Tony - or Hillary - gets whacked. That’s easy ammo for her
opponents. Hillary’s team let their cleverness get the best of them,
and their brand — I mean, candidate — took a hit."

But I disagree–mocking Clinton as a brand misses the point. This spot is both clever and provocative –two words that have been not previously been attached to this campaign. A breath of fresh air into an increasingly predictable script.

P.S. This entry is cross-posted at the Women’s DISH, the official blog of the Downtown Women’s Club , where I am a guest blogger for the summer.