DePaul Professor, Former Communications Advisor to White House, Offers Solutions

America’s political system is turning off young voters because our leaders rely too heavily on mass marketing tactics to determine public opinion, win votes and shape public policies in the White House and Congress. That’s the conclusion of a new book by Bruce I. Newman, a DePaul University marketing professor and former communications advisor to top Clinton White House officials.

Newman’s book, "The Mass Marketing of Politics: Democracy in an Age of Manufactured Images" (Sage Publishing 1999), explores how mass marketing has altered American politics during the last 20 years and discusses what citizens can do to fix the system before it is too late.

Newman argues that political candidates, elected leaders and special interest groups have abandoned real leadership and party ideology to mold public opinion through marketing techniques peddled by consultants, pollsters, media strategists and direct mail specialists.

"Political leaders and candidates are manufacturing their images to young voters using the same sophisticated marketing techniques that corporations use to sell products targeted to young people," Newman said. "While these tactics earn millions of dollars in the corporate marketplace, they have the opposite effect in politics, turning off young voters. The danger to our democracy is that we are raising a generation of young people who have little interest in our political system."

"The political system today is driven by marketing with emphasis on image over substance, on personality over issues, on 30-second sound bites over meaningful dialogue," Newman added. "The campaigns are too long, too much money is spent and there’s too much negativity."

Newman, a nationally known authority on political marketing and voter behavior, served as a communications advisor to top aides in the Clinton White House for 15 months beginning March 1995.

He was invited to participate in the formulation of Clinton’s communications strategy because of his 1993 book, "The Marketing of the President," one of five he has authored. Newman conducted market research on the president’s image, sharing the results with then White House Press Secretary George Stephanopoulos, White House Chief of Staff Erskin Bowles and other top communications advisors. His research suggested that Clinton should focus his image around the creation a brighter future for children. Although this message was adopted as part of Clinton’s communications strategy, Newman said his experience with the White House "marketing juggernaut" left him feeling disillusioned about the system. It also inspired him to write "The Mass Marketing of Politics."

With an insider’s eye, Newman examines the use and misuse of mass marketing as a strategy tool by Clinton and other presidents, candidates and Congressional leaders, including George Bush Sr., Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Bob Dole, Michael Dukakis, Walter Mondale and Newt Gingrich.

The book also explores solutions. "Campaign spending limit reforms, greater disclosure of campaign contributions and a ban on soft money are a start, but the real problem is the way money is used to fuel negative campaigns, turning off young voters." He suggests a regional primary system and limiting candidate marketing to a few weeks. Newman also advocates the creation of an independent body to oversee political campaigns and laws that prohibit deceptive political advertising.

Newman’s book has earned praise from political, communications and marketing insiders including Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow, former U.S. Senator Paul Simon, and former Democratic National Committee Chairman David Wilhelm.

"This book is important because it casts new light on the future of campaigns, the future of elections and the future of the democratic process," Minow writes in the book’s foreword. "Today’s cynicism about politics is dangerous for our political health and could be deadly for our children. We can govern ourselves wisely only if we have abundant, factual, relevant information about candidates’ talent and character rather than their consultants’ slick versions of what they think we want to see and hear."