Branding America

As we all celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, it seems a good time to take a look back at the role of branded merchandise in supporting America. For now, we're not looking at their use in politics, but the purely patriotic functions they have served in history.

Branded merchandise is as American as baseball, jazz and apple pie. Before it became a defined business category, patriotic merch was already being produced and distributed as a mass messaging tool. Buttons harken back 237 years, when commemorative buttons were distributed at George Washington's inauguration. A few years later, as manufacturing scaled up, all sorts of imagery appeared to promote the concept of America, with the American flag, the bald eagle and other patriotic symbols printed on calendars, paper fans, trading cards, and glassware.

In 1917, when the nation entered World War I, branded merch became a tool for mobilization. Some examples are Liberty Loan campaign buttons, pins and posters; factory incentive awards; and products decked out in red, white and blue or emblazoned with military insignia. Similar messaging was prevalent during World War II.

Another event that brought a surge in national pride was the walk on the moon by Neil Armstrong. Space age themes spread like crazy in this time. And of course, the bicentennial in 1976 saw us completely flooded with patriotic imagery and memorabilia.

Just as the world wars brought a crisis response, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 did the same, as we saw perhaps the biggest surge of patriotic fervor ever. Americans proudly wore apparel and products featuring rallying cries like “United We Stand” and “Never Forget.” It was a universal phenomenon, across the entire political spectrum.

As we celebrate the 250th, the nation is extremely divided politically, but the power of patriotic merchandise is as strong as ever.