Last week American Idol, a show where talented nobodies compete to become a global pop superstar met the Republican presidential nomination race, where talented nobodies compete to become a global political superstar.
The race for the Republican Presidential nomination has already been hugely entertaining, providing watchers with a sexual harassment scandal which did for dark horse Herman Cain (although his failure to remember Obama’s policy on Libya also contributed to a slump in support); a stuttering debate performance by one-time front-runner Rick Perry, and a recent surge in popularity by Newt Gingrich whose political aspirations seem harder to kill than Dracula.
There was a further strange twist this week when Kelly Clarkson, who won American Idol a few years ago came out in support of Ron Paul, a Libertarian and one of the fringe candidates in the Republican race. Her political tweet did not seem to help Ron Paul win more votes in the Iowa caucus, but there was a huge surge in popularity for her latest album, which rose from 38th on Amazon’s sales list into the top 10.
So what caused the Clarkson bounce? In his weekly column in the Financial Times, Gary Silverman speculated that Miss Clarkson was effectively making a guest appearance in a US reality TV show, because the boundaries between politics and entertainment have blurred so much.
My view though is that it may have more to do with brand loyalty.
Kelly Clarkson no doubt has some passionate fans, but with due respect to them they may not rush to endorse a political candidate on her say so (presumably also, because she is a pop singer, many of her fans might also be too young to vote).
On the other hand, fans of Ron Paul might well have been willing to try her music as an extension of their loyalty to his brand.
It is also arguable that Clarkson’s endorsement of Paul’s brand will take longer to show through in his results because it will be spread over several primaries; whereas Ron Paul’s supporters from across the US were able to make an immediate decision to buy her music leading to a reported 442% increase in album sales.
I don’t think that this was the latest example of political trivialisation. Rather I think Kelly Clarkson has shown again how social media can help ‘brands’ to connect and grow.
