In a country where people "like" Bud Light better than Anchor steam, Hershey's better than...

[NRaleighLiberal]

Scharffenberger, Kraft better than Cabot (based on sales, of course) - you get the idea - advertising matters - and yes, even though it is incredibly obvious to us here that President Obama is hundreds of times the man Romney is, and it is painfully clear what an disaster a Mitt presidency would be, it is not so to many, many, many members of the voting public. This is one of the major reasons that the race seems to be so close in the polls.

So it is all about getting out the vote - convincing those Obama supporters who don't, have never, don't think they will vote to go and do so. The most important thing is turning making the Likely to vote for Obama numbers/Registered voters equal to the overall Obama supporter numbers, which appear to be much higher.

GOTV...time's a wastin'!

[riderinthestorm]

1. Hm, while I 110% support your GOTV!! I think it isn't advertising anymore that's driving those sales

I think its poverty. People aren't buying the "good stuff" anymore. They're shopping for cheaper brands in order to stay afloat. Furthermore, as more and more kids grow up eating that kind of stuff, their palate becomes accustomed to THAT taste, so Kraft Mac and Cheese actually DOES taste better to them than homemade or Stouffers.

Anyway, I digress.

A big K&R for your enthusiasm!

[GoCubsGo]

4. Yep.

I buy Cabot when it's on a good sale and I have a coupon. But, otherwise, it's Kraft or Sargento with a sale and coupon, or store brand. And, it's not just poverty. You remind me of the episode of "Good Eats" where Alton Brown's "nephew" wanted him to make some mac 'n' cheese. The kid expected it to taste like the stuff in the box, because that's what his mom always made. Anything else was inferior--until he actually tasted the homemade varieties. Some of it is a matter of convenience. Mom and Dad both work, so they do what's easiest to get food on the table, and Kraft Mac 'N' Cheese it is.

[Silver Swan]

5. When my kids were young

I bought generic macaroni and cheese. My kids learned to prefer the cheap stuff, and complained that Kraft was "too cheesy."

Back then, we called homemade macaroni and cheese, "real macaroni and cheese," and if I took the time to make the baked in the oven kind, that was "real Real macaroni and cheese."

[Bluenorthwest]

2. Advertizing matters in some ways, the examples you give are not at all comparable

to the two candidates. One is the most recognizable person on the planet, the President. The other is now known to the American electorate. People who have not heard of Scharffen Berger chocolates, which are much more expensive than Hershey's, are not making a choice at all, they are buying what they know. One product is a virtual unknown, niche product, the other is the most famous chocolate in the US. Why is that? Ask Hershey, for they own Scharffen Berger. Think about it.
Whitman outspet Brown on ads 3 to 1. Ads can tell people your product exists, they can not and do not create a need or desire for that product. They just don't.

[phantom power]

3. don't forget, "good" beer was all but impossible to manufacture and sell for 3 generations...

after prohibition. The ABV limitations prevented making beer that had much flavor. That didn't change until the 70s, and it took another good generation for an ecosystem of craft breweries to reseed itself here.

And, as others have pointed out, fizzy yellow beer is also cheap. And our middle class is on life support.

[genxlib]

6. Default Position

I think the preferences you outline are more about being the default choice rather than the power of advertising. Sometimes, products just get a position of being the go-to version of the product and they live off the brand name. That might have been because some advertising in the past but the positions they enjoy far outweigh the advertising that they do to support their products.

My personal beef is with Lipton Tea which is worse than any other tea on the market.