Presidential campaigns take swag game up a notch

DES MOINES — These days it takes more than a bumper sticker to declare, 'That's my candidate!'

The campaign merchandise race has escalated, and the latest battleground is the contest to pick the nation's next president.

Sure, bumper stickers and pins still are around, but these candidates are armed with more.

So much more.

Hillary Clinton has 'Chillary' can koozies and a pantsuit T-shirt. Jeb Bush has a guacamole bowl.

Marco Rubio has polo shirts called — wait for it — Marco Polos.

And Donald Trump has a hat. Yes, that hat. The hat that became a phenomenon the minute he wore it on the campaign trail. That plain white hat with plain writing of his campaign slogan, 'Make America great again.'

The staples have been around for years — bumper stickers, pins, T-shirts, posters, yard signs. Campaigns love anything that displays the candidate's name for many to see. It's a form of advertising.

But campaign merchandise evolves, as the 2016 presidential campaign shows.

It's a race many are running: Of the top 20 polling candidates, 11 have campaign merchandise for sale on their websites.

Selling campaign merchandise is not what keeps a presidential campaign afloat. It's not a moneymaker.

But it does provide campaigns with something just as valuable — supporter information.

'What you get are two things that are sort of important,' said Tim Hagle, a political-science professor at the University of Iowa. 'The first thing, it's a buy-in on the campaign. The fact you're buying into that sort of commits you in a way other things might not. …

'Plus you're putting your contact information on the website. …

(Campaign staff) can come back to you later either for donations or support.'

Brad Anderson, who was the Iowa director for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, said campaigns are 'data-mining machines,' and merchandise purchase forms are pure gold.

Anderson also said campaign merchandise often matches the candidate's personality. He said some of the Obama campaign merchandise was more 'cool' than previous presidential campaigns, and that it was a reflection of Obama.

Anderson said he will long remember a T-shirt printed with 'Health reform is a B. F. D,' a humorous take on Vice President Joe Biden getting caught on microphone whispering to Obama that passing the health-care reform law was a 'big (expletive) deal.'

'There is no doubt that the Obama merchandise had a cool factor that had not really been seen in presidential campaigns until then, and I think Obama himself is a pretty cool guy,' Anderson said.

Anderson said he sees some of that in the 2016 campaign, noting in particular Trump's hat and some of Clinton's merchandise, which he described as 'upscale and stylish.'

Much of the 2016 merchandise is similar regardless of the candidate — T-shirts, coffee mugs, buttons and signs, all emblazoned with the campaign logo. But some have chosen to get creative.

It may be one way to be noticed in such a large crowd, one political expert said.

'Right now, there are so many campaigns, you have to find a way to stand out,' said Dennis Goldford, a Drake University political science professor. 'You're just looking for something that will break through the noise.'

Here are a few examples of unique pieces of campaign merchandise in the 2016 presidential campaign:

Jeb Bush's Guaca Bowle

What it is: A guacamole bowl.

What it costs: $75

Bush on the campaign trail has talked about his family's 'Sunday fun days,' when he and his wife, Columba, will make guacamole for their grandchildren. The Bush campaign website jokingly says the family guacamole recipe is 'not included …

yet.'

Donald Trump's hat

What it is: A hat with the campaign slogan 'Make America great again' printed on the front.

What it costs: $25

When Trump started making appearances wearing the hat, social media was abuzz. It is not common for a presidential candidate to wear a baseball-style hat on the campaign trail, although Trump is far from a common candidate. The Trump campaign store offers the hat in several colors and hat styles.

Hillary Clinton's everyday pantsuit tee

What it is: A T-shirt with a printed image of a pantsuit.

What it costs: $30

Clinton has become known for wearing pantsuits, particularly in satirical circles. (Watch the next time she is parodied on 'Saturday Night Live.' It's a lock the impersonator will be wearing a pantsuit.) Clinton's campaign said the 'pantsuit tee' has been one of the merchandise store's best sellers.

Another is Clinton's 'Chillary' can koozies. Clearly designed with a younger audience in mind, one koozie is printed with, 'More like Chillary Clinton, amirite?'

Rand Paul's Hillary hard drive with wiping cloth

What it is: A faux email server.

What it costs: $60

Let it not be said the Rand Paul campaign does not have a pointed sense of humor. This trinket takes advantage of the criticism and questions surrounding Clinton's use of a private email server during her time as U.S. Secretary of State. The email server — we assume it's not real and just a decoration, but attempts to reach the Paul campaign were not successful — comes with a 'wiping cloth,' again poking fun at Clinton and questions about whether she wiped many emails off her server. The Paul store's server is adorned with a sticker that says 'Hillary's hard drive' and the warning 'Heavy use, now perfectly clean.'

Marco Rubio's Marco Polos

What it is: A polo shirt.

What it costs: $45-$48

The item itself is not terribly innovative. It's just a plain polo shirt with the campaign logo. But the play on words is clever.