The Joe Biden presidential campaign is leaning hard into COVID-19 relief as a keystone of the platform, and the theme has carried over into its merchandise, too.
The Biden camp’s latest product is a 2 oz. branded hand sanitizer bottle, with a (slightly verbose) label that looks a bit like the Dr. Bronner’s label. The words aren’t just empty placeholder text, though. It’s all detailed information about Biden’s proposed plan to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic if elected.
Yo @JoeBiden has a @DrBronner (esque) hand sanitizer for pre-order on his web store. Amazing. https://t.co/neS74vltmN pic.twitter.com/4bQxsUX0k1
— Greg Bales (@gregory_b) September 2, 2020
“Donald Trump’s catastrophic failures of governance have led to tens of thousands of needless deaths and economic pain for tens of millions of Americans,” the label says.
The $8 campaign item also continues a growing trend of making campaign merchandise that not only advertises the candidate, but directly attacks the challenger or other political side. Think about Trump’s plastic straws as a way to mock environmentally conscious folks on the left who switched to paper or metal straws. This one plays into the moral high ground, critiquing Trump’s handling of the pandemic while also reflecting the plan for Biden’s proposed first term.
Not that hand sanitizer and hygiene are fads, but Biden’s campaign has also done a pretty good job of staying on top of what his younger voters are into. The other week the campaign introduced digital yard signs for the video game “Animal Crossing: New Horizon,” in which you can build and decorate your own “island” property in a virtual town. The Biden campaign also apparently is planning to release more “virtual swag” down the road.
Starting tomorrow, you may see Joe Biden campaign signs and yard banners on your neighbor's island in the video game "Animal Crossing: New Horizon" too. https://t.co/U6Py9Nu8BS
— CNN (@CNN) September 2, 2020
But for now, the hand sanitizer is very real, and it hits a promotional sweet spot. For one thing, it’s a necessary item for everyone. Hand sanitizer has been probably the most sought-after promotional item since March, when suppliers and manufacturers couldn’t keep up with demand for it as the virus spread to the U.S. And with this product’s frequent usage, Biden supporters will have a good reason to show off their support (and maybe even share it with others).
It’s also a real ramp-up in Biden’s campaign offering, after his camp was a little quiet earlier on in the campaign process. Let’s just hope, for Biden’s sake, that the hand sanitizer wasn’t made with any potentially harmful chemicals. That would be a bad look.
