For All Those Who Still Have Some Need for Clintonian Nostalgia…Bill for Prez 1991!

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I was going through some old files this evening and found one of my many stashes of direct mail I’ve kept over the years for various reasons. Somehow, in all the moving and whatnot over the years, this piece, from the first Clinton campaign in 1991-1992 got misfiled in a batch of 2003 SF Mayoral mail (!) which I was looking up because…well, you know.
Anyway, click on the images for a larger version of the covers and the inside spread. You can tell this is probably one of the first brochures the campaign made, most likely in 1991 when Clinton’s campaign began, but before James Carville and Paul Begala joined the campaign (in 1991 they were busy winning an impossible bid for US Senate for Harris Wofford).
Design notes, and a clip from “Mad Men” after the jump! Read on!


Couple of design notes that also clue us in to just how old this thing is – first of all, it’s a three-color job. Once upon a time four-color printing cost a lot more, and there were some presses that ran three colors cheaper (usually black + 2 other colors). Today, there’s no such thing as “three color” printing – advances in technology have rendered that process obsolete as a cost saving measure. (There are, however, still 2 color presses which do offer cost savings on simple campaign collateral).
But more importantly, look at how wordy this thing is. As this was probably the only thing they had at first, they had to “kitchen sink” 12 years as Governor into 2 pages – not an easy task, especially for a candidate at the time who was considered “c-list” at best, and had no foreign policy experience, and came from a state smaller than most cities and counties in the west.
And finally, for those nostalgic for the 90s, I offer Don Draper’s take on what “nostalgia” really means in this awesome clip from the season finale of “Mad Men.” If you haven’t seen the show, then maybe you might wanna watch it first before seeing this. Those of you who have seen it will know it for the amazing dramatic punch this had.
Enjoy!

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