Class-Clown Brands Are Trying to LoLz Us to Death

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“I’m funny how? … Funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you?”

— Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), “Goodfellas”

For generations advertising has honed a stand-up style of humor that blends commerce and comedy to entertain, inform and sell. …

But as social media devour consumer attention and ad spend, so the send-and-receive model of ad humor has (d)evolved. When speed trumps strategy and virality is all, the archetype of brand as stand-up — alone in the spotlight, demanding our attention, selling a joke — has spawned a new and chaotic model: brand as class clown.

Of course, not all brands have the aspiration (or ability) to beclown themselves. But those that do are embracing novel commercial comic stylings — wackaging, tacticality, brandinage — that together form a distinctive tone of voice: brandter. CONTINUED

Ben Schott, Bloomberg

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Majority in U.S. Still Say Gov’t Should Ensure Healthcare

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A 57% majority of U.S. adults believe that the federal government should ensure all Americans have healthcare coverage. Yet nearly as many, 53%, prefer that the U.S. healthcare system be based on private insurance rather than run by the government. These findings are in line with recent attitudes about the government’s involvement in the healthcare system, which have been relatively steady since 2015. CONTINUED

Megan Brenan, Gallup

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Nearly 7 in 10 support state-level ballot measures on abortion

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Six months since the landmark Dobbs decision, a new NPR/Ipsos poll finds that while most Americans say abortion should be legal in most cases, two in five say they support the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe. Agreement with the right to abortion is split along party lines, with Democrats more likely to be in favor of abortion rights and Republicans more likely to oppose them. However, during what would have been the 50-year anniversary of Roe, nearly seven in ten Americans, regardless of party, say they would support a state-level ballot measure or voter referendum to decide abortion rights at the state level. If a voter referendum was held, Americans say 2 (54%) to 1 (27%) that they would vote to establish legal abortion. CONTINUED

Ipsos

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Most Americans say overturning Roe was politically motivated, NPR/Ipsos poll finds

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Fifty years ago Sunday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the constitutional right to an abortion with the Roe v. Wade decision. Nearly seven months ago, the same court overturned that ruling, putting the matter back to the states.

A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds that 3 in 5 Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, although they hold a range of opinions when asked about the exact circumstances. The survey, conducted this January, heard from a representative sample of more than 1,000 adults, including 278 Republicans, 320 Democrats, and 324 Independents. CONTINUED

Laura Benshoff, NPR News

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Document issue bad for both Trump and Biden but American public views Trump as more serious concern

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A new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds that large majorities of Americans believe that both Donald Trump (77%) and Joe Biden (64%) acted inappropriately in how they handled classified documents after leaving office. However, when asked which was more serious, a plurality (43%) said Trump’s actions were a more serious concern.

This comes as Biden sees incremental improvements in how the public views his handling of issues ranging from the pandemic to the economy to climate change. However, on several important issues, including immigration and gun violence, perceptions of Biden are stagnant. CONTINUED

Chris Jackson, Mallory Newall & Johnny Sawyer, Ipsos

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Most Americans think both Biden and Trump inappropriately handled classified documents

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Strong majorities of Americans believe that both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump acted inappropriately when it came to their handling of classified documents, but in weighing their severity, a plurality of the public believes Trump’s actions were more serious, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds.

Over three-quarters of the public, 77%, feel that Trump acted inappropriately in the way he handled classified files, while 64%, say the same of Biden. Condemnation expectedly aligns along party lines, with 96% of Democrats saying that Trump’s handling of classified documents was not appropriate compared to 47% of Republicans. CONTINUED

Brittany Shepherd, ABC News

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