Dem’s in Search of a New Logo

Is the donkey out on its rump?

In a bid to breathe life back into the Democratic Party, Esquire magazine commissioned three leading advertising agencies to come up with a new look for the so-called party of the common man.

The slogans suggested by the agencies have no links to the party’s failure to win the last two presidential elections.

There’s no screaming Howard Dean, there are no hanging chads and there is no stained-yet-well-preserved blue dress. There also is no room for Bill Clinton to ponder the definition of “is.”

The ad agencies rolled out campaign ideas they believe will appeal to voters of all stripes – using such images as the Statue of Liberty and flowing typeface straight out of the Constitution.

New York-based Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners – whose clients include Target stores and Meow Mix cat food – proposed a hard-charging donkey blasting out of an American flag.

“The use of stars shows that the Republicans aren’t the only party with patriotism,” reads the firm’s entry in the upcoming issue of Esquire.

Below the image is a straight-from-the-’60s slogan, “Dems: power to the people.”

Several in-your-face ads based on the slogan were developed, including a poster with the imagine of a blindfolded captive who appears to be Mideastern being guarded by a U.S. soldier. Under the photo blares the message: “POWER TO KNOW WHEN NOT TO ABUSE IT,” and the hard-charging donkey logo.

“Our logo conveys a Democratic Party of strength,” the firm said. “The donkey is more stallion-like and less buck-toothed goofball.”

TenUnited of Ohio – the state that put President Bush over the top in 2004 – tried to find common ground between the red and blue states.

Their solution? A slogan and look that would unite the country – and make Barney the dinosaur blush with pride.

In bold letters, the words “Power to the Purple” frame an image of the Statue of Liberty.

“What better way to leave the divisiveness behind than by embracing purple?” the firm wrote.

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners of San Francisco reached into the nation’s distant past.

“We Are the People,” written in calligraphy like the Constitution’s, is positioned on top of the word “Democrats,” which is rendered in a decidedly modern font.

“It harkens back to our Founding Fathers, so we wanted to stay away from marketing slogans and cliches such as the American flag,” the firm wrote.

“By using the actual calligraphy of the Constitution and adding a single word to ‘We the People,’ we have 1788 meeting 2008,” the next presidential election, the California firm wrote.

As Jonah Goldberg over at The Corner writes, Karl Rove can sleep late.