For retail brand Urban Outfitters–which targets the edgy, insubordinate teen demographic with such classic subject lines as “We’re having a FLASH SALE! And that seriously NEVER happens!”–pissing off the Christian “culture warriors” at One Million Moms should be considered collateral success. The two groups clearly have little in common, except for one odd thing:

The chairman and founder of Urban Outfitters is 68-year-old conservative Richard Hayne, who once donated thousands to former Senator, uber-Republican and failed presidential aspirant Rick Santorum. Yes, this is where the semantics get complicated.

All PR professionals know that successful brands are built on a foundation of values, promises and attributes that collectively comprise brand identity—including individuals who run or work for the brand. For example, when the public thinks of Virgin Airlines we see the flowing white locks of unfettered free spirit Richard Branson.

Sure, Mr. Hayne may not be the face of Urban Outfitters, but he is a vital part of the brand’s internal workings. So the public can be forgiven for asking “What the f*ck was he thinking?” when this year’s Urban Outfitters holiday catalog featured a “Let’s F*cking Reminisce” book and a “Merry Christmas B*tches” mug among other profanity-emblazoned offerings ranging from candles to T-shirts.

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Former President George W. Bush has endorsed Mitt Romney. He did so as he was entering an elevator after giving a speech about human rights in Washington D.C. Actually, he did so while the elevator doors were closing and with the words, “I’m for Mitt Romney.” Well all righty then.

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Newt Gingrich is exiting the Presidential race the same way he entered it: by pre-announcing his announcement about dropping out.

The former House speaker released a video today telling viewers that he will be “suspending” his campaign tomorrow. Very strangely, he characterizes the sharing of this info as “insider, advance notice.” A person sharing information with a special someone usually does so with a whisper in the ear rather than a megaphone online. Moreover, the media has been covering his pending campaign suspension since last Wednesday.

Both Gingrich and Rick Santorum are looking for assurances from Mitt Romney before giving him their endorsement. Santorum would like a guarantee about Romney’s conservative bona fides; Gingrich wants help with the $4.3 million in debt it’s said he’s accumulated and assistance with reputation repair, Fox News says.

[via Mashable]

*Update, 5/2: He’s officially done.

Etch A Sketch rode a political gaffe to a bonafide PR win. Sensing an opportunity, they released this creative statement after Mitt Romney advisor Eric Gehrnstrom used the antique toy as a way to describe what happens when we move from primary season into the general election.

Shortly after the interview, both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum made appearances holding up an Etch A Sketch. They’ve kept up the Etch A Sketch-related attacks for days. Their supporters did the same. Santorum’s spokesperson Alice Stewart handed out the toys at a Romney gathering and then waved one on Anderson Cooper 360°.

As a result, Etch A Sketch’s stock skyrocketed. Is the recession so bad that we’re taking stock cues from bad metaphors?

Bigger question: Have Santorum and Gingrich benefited from their antics?

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Super Tuesday is behind us and with the results showing that the race is increasingly between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, the two are calling for Newt Gingrich to scram.

According to The Washington Post, Santorum’s camp made it clear that Gingrich, who was only successful in Georgia last night, should clear the way for Santorum and stop taking votes from their guy.

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A big financial backer for Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign, Foster Friess, went on MSNBC today, started talking about sex, and then said “gals” in his time would put Bayer aspirin between their knees as a means of birth control. Seriously, I can’t.

And neither could Andrea Mitchell, who didn’t manage the next question she was reeling so from that blast of cuckoo.

Business Insider notes that, after some Googling, they couldn’t find any past connection between Bayer aspirin and birth control, though the company does make birth control pills.

The comment was followed by jokes on Twitter and the addition of Foster Friess to the list of trending topics on the social network this afternoon.

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Rick Santorum has gotten a tremendous jolt after his wins in Colorado, Missouri, and Minnesota earlier this week. His presidential campaign raised $1 million twice this week. And supporters are becoming increasingly confident that he is a viable candidate.

After he got whomped, Mitt Romney came out with his guns blazing, aiming not just at Santorum, but Newt Gingrich and Republicans as a whole. With some time to reflect, he and his supporters are toning that down. But others are calling for him to ramp up his messaging in other ways.

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Mitt Romney after his Iowa caucus win last night. Photo: AP

With the big GOP’s Iowa caucus behind us (results here in case you’re just climbing out from under that rock), New Hampshire directly ahead, and lots of lingering confusion over who’s really winning this thing, everyone is looking for a way to read the tea leaves with help from the media, digital or otherwise.

Going the traditional route, Mediaite found a correlation between the amount of television and radio coverage a candidate received throughout January 3 and where they placed in the caucus. However, the results don’t determine whether the media is following the voters’ lead or vice versa.

Going into the voting, it was Ron Paul who was riding a social media wave. The Washington Post‘s new @MentionMachine, a new app that tracks the election across Twitter and other media, has Ron Paul on top with more than 363,000 Twitter mentions and more than 5,300 media mentions for the week.

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Image: Reuters

Just when you thought 2012 couldn’t get any better, it’s Iowa caucus day. As MSNBC’s First Read blog notes, turnout is everything in these political matters. And the candidates are doing everything they can to make sure the votes come in, like physically transporting people to polling sites so they can cast their votes.

The Ron Paul and Rick Perry campaigns are providing voters with transportation, and Mitt Romney’s camp is providing transportation “for special circumstances.”

But before voters can get to the polling locations, the candidates, unfortunately for them, had a few more days to make their cases.

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According to MSNBC’s First Thoughts column, Rick Santorum (a.k.a. That Guy) is still in the running in that wacky GOP presidential race. We thought That Guy was long gone! But he’s in the mix going into next week’s Iowa caucus. Could it be his colorful fashion sense? Perhaps it’s his new ad, which is light on the talking but heavy on the thought bubbles?

We love a good episode of Pop-Up Video, but what do you think of this for political messaging? Or any messaging for that matter?

[via New York]