Bernie Sanders is struggling in the 2020 polls but he maintains an advantage in branding amid the welter of slogans and logos.
In a survey of the registered voters’ opinions on presidential candidate logo designs and slogans, 578 Democrats rated the Vermont senator’s logos and “A Future to Believe In” slogan higher than any other Democratic candidate, including his chief rival for left-leaning supporters, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
“Elections are interesting because a lot of designs are released in a short span of time and they’re all trying to do basically the same thing. In this cycle, with such a diverse and crowded field, there was more risk-taking and experimentation than usual,” said Dale Denham, of Crestline Custom Promotional Products, which commissioned the survey.
Respondents were asked to focus on logo design and slogan message rather than the candidate.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s “A Fair Shot For Everyone” was the second-highest rated Democratic presidential slogan, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney’s “Focus On The Future” was in third place, and Warren’s “Dream Big, Fight Hard” came in fourth.
Lowest-rated Democratic tag lines included Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s “Amy for America,” “Brave Wins” for New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand — who has dropped out of the race — and Warren’s “I have a plan for that.” One survey respondent commented on Warren’s tag line: “Everyone has a plan other than Trump.”
Sanders has hit a slump against rivals such as Warren and Joe Biden. The former vice president leads in the RealClearPolitics average with 30.2%, followed by Warren at 19.8% and Sanders at 16.6%. In late March, Sanders held the second position, with 23.8%, behind Biden, at a tick above 30%.
On Sanders’ logo of American flag glasses and a silhouette of his hair, one respondent said, “This is one of the more striking logos I’ve seen. It’s clever and memorable.”
Democratic voters also favored Sanders’ classic “Bernie” logo with red and blue wave lines, Biden’s two logos with three red lines in place of a traditional “E,” one using his last name and one using his first, and Julián Castro’s black and white logo with a blue accent in the “á.”
Warren’s cream green logo with her last name was the lowest-rated. “This logo is exceedingly dull and overly minimalistic,” one respondent said. Voters liked the same design in a navy color scheme more, but it still fell in the lower half rated logos.
Nearly half of the candidates have put themselves on first-name terms with voters, omitting surnames from their logos. Democrats rated those an average of 5.42 out of 10 compared to a 5.24 average for those featuring last names.
This campaign season’s candidates also feature a number of logos veering away from traditional patriotic red, white, and blue color schemes, which was less popular. Logos with nontraditional colors received a 5.11 average score out of 10 among Democrats, while those with red, white, and blue colors received an average of 5.45.
Harris’ logo features yellow and purple, and spiritual author Marianne Williamson uses a heavy dose of pink. “This is very feminine and could ‘turn off’ some voters,” one respondent said of Williamson’s logo. “The color scheme makes me think this is for a musical ad from the 70s,” another said about Harris’ logo.
[Previous coverage: Trump lets audience decide his new campaign slogan]
