Saturday marked Donald Trump’s 104th day of trolling the media as the 47th President. To celebrate, he posted an image of himself as Pope to a standard mixed response. The White House retweeted the post. It is reasonable – preferable, even – for personal social media accounts to be authentic. Yet the Office of the President – the White House – is distinct from the temporary office holder. Like the Crown in Britain, the White House is the enduring institution which outlives each President. The social media strategy of the current administration, however, is turning this on its head. It may be entertaining to see unhinged tweets coming from the official White House brand, but it cuts off a link to timelessness that could build support for his second Presidency.
The ‘Unhinged Brand’
“Unhinged branding” is increasingly popular among global brands, with Ryanair and Duolingo being the most successful users of it.
Ryanair’s unhinged brand
Ryanair, an Irish low-fares airline, regularly puts out content that attacks its customers and makes fun of how poor its user experience is. A counterintuitive strategy, it is fully aligned with the brand. Ryanair markets to customers who prioritize low cost over comfort in their travel. By emphasizing the poor user experience through its unhinged brand, Ryanair manages expectations and segments its audience. Comfort-conscious travelers will go elsewhere. The unhinged brand is also an extension of the persona of its CEO, Michael O’Leary. O’Leary became famous for vision-casting pay-per-use airplane toilets and standing tickets for flights. In short, the unhinged brand helps Ryanair to make sales.
The Death of Duo
Duolingo is another brand that uses an unhinged voice to drive engagement. Duo, the brand mascot, is an overly-persistent, sometimes creepy teacher who uses humor to drive engagement back to the app. The occasional push notification to remind users to return may increase engagement, but such persistence can be a recipe for deleted apps. Duo, on the other hand, is so unhinged that many users keep the app just for the notifications. A well-placed passive aggressive message is more likely to drive people back to learning Spanish than a boring reminder. The unhinged brand has grown to become such a societal phenomenon that Duo’s death in February became a major news story across the US and Europe. As a magical owl, Duo could be resurrected by earning points through using the Duolingo app. An unconventional strategy, sure, but it aligns with Duolingo’s brand and directly increases engagement.
Alignment is key
The key in these examples is alignment with the overall brand. Ryanair is cheap and necessarily the worst. Duo’s life depends on you completing your French lesson today and he won’t let you rest until you do it. On the other hand, the White House is a timeless institution representing 350 million Americans as the Executive of the global hegemon. The brand need not be stuffy but it should be slightly more serious than it has been so far.
The White House Brand
Since Trump’s accession to the Presidency in January, the White House brand has played jump rope with the line of appropriateness.
Closing Time
In March, the White House released a video of illegal immigrants being arrested and deported with the soundtrack of Semisonic’s ‘Closing Time’. An iconically upbeat anthem, the video was expertly crafted to position the Administration’s mass deportation program as a positive for Americans. It sent a clear message about enforcing the law. Yet while this may have been appropriate for release on a more political account (say, from the personal accounts of the President or the Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem), it did not align well with the official communication channels of the People’s House.
Lofi MAGA Video to Relax/Study To
Last week’s ‘Lofi MAGA Video to Relax/Study To’ is another example. It leaned into the cultural phenomenon of ‘lofi beats’ and inserted the political element of a cartoon Donald Trump signing Executive Orders while the Orders scrolled up on the screen for 24 hours. ‘Promises Made, Promises Kept’ is an excellent political message, conveyed in an unhinged format. Yet again, while the White House channel adds to the unhinged nature of the video, it detracts from the opportunity the White House account provides to the Administration.
Pope Donald I
Donald Trump’s Pope tweet on Saturday was posted on the correct channel – Donald Trump is well-positioned after 50 years as a ‘meme lord’. But when the White House retweeted the post, it cheapened its brand, missing the purpose of the account. One should not forget that the White House is the institution that is trying (thus far unsuccessfully) to get Russia to the table to end its war in Ukraine. This misalignment between the White House brand and its online communications makes it look like the accounts are controlled by a 22 year old intern. Now, of course, many social media accounts are controlled by 22 year old interns. The difference is that the White House brand should not sound like a 22 year old intern!
The Opportunity
With dozens of personal and ‘Rapid Response’ accounts representing the Administration, the White House presents a unique opportunity to reinforce Trump’s policies. Of course, anything that causes a lot of fuss over nothing, as the above examples have, is generally a deliberate distraction from the real story. But a better brand strategy for the Administration would be to use White House social media channels to balance the Administration’s meme-focused communications.
As Trump, the Cabinet, and Karoline Leavitt lean into political messaging and promote controversial moves like Liberation Day and Pope Donald I, the White House could hold the line with a more serious approach. Other countries would still be utterly confused about the direction of the Administration’s policies, but a serious White House brand would underscore Trump’s serious focus on his policies. In other words, a serious White House brand would provide much-needed reinforcements to the meme lord and his team.
There is a lesson here for all brands, political or not. An unhinged brand is effective when it is deliberate and fully aligned with the overall brand strategy. Misusing it undermines the objectives of the brand. An unhinged White House misses an opportunity to further intimidate other countries. With so little time for this Administration to achieve its key objectives before the 2026 midterms, its misuse of the White House brand could be the difference between a successful or unsuccessful second Trump term.
