When Did the Anthony Weiner Brand Derail?

by Cynti Oshin
Director Client Services/Business Development

Was it last week? Was it yesterday? Did it actually derail? Or is he still on brand? I’m very curious what you think.

When I look back on Rep. Weiner’s brand message, it appears that his ‘why’, why he gets out of bed in the morning is to be a ‘fighter for New York”. He is an ‘every man’ or in the brand archetype vernacular – a Regular Joe fighting to “uphold New York values”. www.weiner.house.gov

This isn’t a conversation about marketing strategy, communications strategy, or even public relations. It is about being true to your brand and what it means when you compromise it. Weiner says he won’t resign as he did not break any laws. But what about fighting to uphold New York values? Are there New Yorkers who feel that their values include honesty and integrity? And don’t include out and out lying? I’m guessing yes. Lots of them.

Would this be a different conversation if last week Anthony Weiner admitted to his constituents, to reporters, to the nation that he was a regular guy, doing admittedly some really, really stupid stuff? That his humanity was showing and it wasn’t pretty? That he was very sorry and that he needed to address some pretty unfortunate tendencies? And most importantly, that he needed to come clean so that he could continue to do the work he set out to do, however imperfect as he may be?

I believe it would be an entirely different conversation. Instead, he went off brand, he ranted at reporters for asking the same questions over and over again, demanding an honest answer. His reply to their queries, if he did, was to point the finger at someone else. He had been victimized, somebody did this to him and the press was only making it worse.

So, my question is, did that misstep mean a derailment? Has he moved so far off the Anthony Weiner brand that he can’t ever get it back? Only time will tell if he is able to. I, for one, hope he can’t. You?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rep-anthony-weiner-picture/story?id=13774605