Johnsonville, Wisconsin – Jamie Schmelzer is not a mental health professional – he is a marketing manager for meatpacking giant Johnsonville. But the inflamed and antagonistic state of American politics has led his company to change its message slightly.
“We don’t pretend that we have what it takes to save America,” Schmelzer told CBS News. “We know the world is full of serious problems that sausage cannot solve.”
The company’s new national ad campaign implores Americans to “turn down the temperature” to reach an agreement.
“We believe that most people are generally good, and should be treated that way,” says the narrator in the new ad campaign. “And that means less trolling and more tailgating, less doom scrolling and more dinner parties.”
Schmelzer said the company believes “this campaign is more cultural than political, but we also fully recognize that those two things are actually inextricably linked.”
Johnsonville suspected the country was on edge, so he tried doing something politicians do: polling.
It found that eight in ten Americans are exhausted by the anger and negativity in the US. It also turned out that many Americans attend fewer meetings than before. Insulation is not good for Johnsonville’s products, Schmelzer said.
“Johnsonville is a cafeteria,” Schmelzer explains. “We like to say that sausage almost doesn’t exist.”
It’s not just Johnsonville that preaches calm and togetherness. Similar echoes can be found in ad campaigns from Miller Lite and La-Z-Boy – which try to sell less struggle and more relaxation.
“They pay attention to our own thoughts as a society,” says Dr. Andrew Cohen, a cultural sociologist who specializes in advertising. “…It’s a great place for these brands to play in. When we say that we can’t deny the reality that people are excited, that it’s very difficult to go to your family’s cookout and get into an argument with your uncle about some political views you disagree with.”
CBS News traveled to the battleground states of Georgia and Wisconsin to show voters the ads and ask them how they view the country.
“Everyone in this country is feeling a little bit tense,” says Kris Stubbs from Georgia.
Shermaine Williams of Cobb County, Georgia, told CBS News: “Everyone’s anxiety and emotions are high, and we just need to chill out.”
These sentiments are consistent with Johnsonville’s research, as well recent warnings from US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on the ‘epidemic of loneliness’ and the toxicity of social media.
“People seem to be isolating themselves too much,” says Debbie Reagles of Kenosha, Wisconsin. “Isolation, that’s a bad thing, you know?
Advertisers hope that building and delaying bridges is a message sold to an anxious nation that has little unity.
“It’s kind of a pep talk for America to remember to take time out, take a break and have some fun with some people you like,” Schmelzer said.
Major Garrett
