Politics and Petticoats...Why we Love the Whitehouse

By, Lauralee Talbot



First ladies, leaders in their own right. They speak. They are aware. They influence the world they influence fashion. People remember them, Eleanor Roosevelt for being classy and smart. Jackie Kennedy for being beautiful and intelligent. Now there is Michelle Obama, poised, tall, well dressed toned and black.



Jackie Kennedy




Eleanor Roosevelt

Michelle Obama

First Ladies are sometimes thought of as a mere hostess at the White house and arm candy for the President, but behind every handsome charismatic president is a First lady carrying him forward into the eyes of the world with flair and fashion. First Ladies thru the ages have shown they are much more. Their preferred fashions has had influences on the fashion world and the general population. However these fashion statements were not mindless coincidental fancies. The dressing of a first lady has always been well thought out and purposeful. The elegance and allure of the First Lady (Edith Wilson) who was the pioneer visitor of OVERSEAS countries resulted in first real attention paid to the President and his entourage. She was invaluable in exciting the newspapers and reporters at the time. Other First Ladies have used their glamour and style to win them publicity when campaigning for their various charities. Long before charities caught on to acquiring rock star endorsements First Ladies knew that the people who give profusely likes to associate their donations to a charity endorsed by an influential well-dressed public figure. First Ladies were among the first to realize this. First Ladies entertain very influential world figures. They see what they wear as not only a reflection of their fashion taste but most importantly the dress the jewelry the accessories are symbolic of a country, its strength and its position. Politically savvy people may think of fashion as merely frilly useless pomp ...but used smartly as the first ladies have done it’s much more.                                                 



Edith Wilson



One must be very intelligent to figure out how fashion will make a favourable statement without offending.

                  

The President and his First Lady

                        



The Obama Campaign's Nail Polish

The Obama campaign trail is well on its way these days and willing to go to any lengths to capture voter interest. Today, they are even trying to inspire the female youth vote in a way that has never been done before by a political party: Nail Polish.

Political enthusiasts and trend setters everywhere will now be able to show their support for the Obama administration, and be as creative as possible while doing it.

Jumping on the nail art craze, the campaign teamed up with Richard Blanch of Le Métier De Beauté cosmetics company. The set includes three mini bottles – in patriotic red, white and blue – come in a neat Obama branded Dopp kit, selling for $40 on the Obama Campaign’s online store. The polish debuted as part of Anna Wintour’s “Runway to Win” campaign event in New York City in February.

According to Politico, the campaign spent $10 000 producing the nail polishes which will be a way of “keeping low dollar supporters engaged with the campaign and driving up overall contribution numbers. It’s part of how the Obama campaign can truthfully say that 97.7 percent of February’s contributions were small donors, even as big donors maxing out at $35,800 are the real fundraising goldmine for the campaign.”

Looks like the usual blahs of posters and buttons are ghosts of campaigns past!

-Jineen Matar

Benetton Sparks Controversial Ad featuring The Pope

By Keshia Griffiths

For years companies across the globe have been using shock ads to promote their brand. United Colors of Benetton, an international luxury brand based in Italy, is a poster child for the strategy. Their new UNHATE campaign, launched November 16, showcases world leaders kissing to promote tolerance and the UNHATE Foundation, which of course has sparked outrage and debates across the globe.

The ads are photoshopped images of feuding world leaders, such as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, as well as French President Nicolas Sakozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel (to name a few), but it seems the most controversial image of the campaign was Pope Benedict XVI locking lips with senior Egyptian Imam Ahmed el Tayeb. The Vatican deemed it image very disrespectful to the Pope and people of faith and the company was forced to remove the image from their campaign the same day it was released.

Adding fuel to the fire this week, the Benetton Group placed a large billboard in Tel Aviv, Israel featuring Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kissing long time rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Will their reaction be stronger than the Vatican’s? What’s your opinion?

Check out the campaign video here.

Follow me on Twitter! @KeshiaMG