Al Gore, According to the Pre-Teen Set

What?  That's correct; Al Gore has a solid image among the pre-teen set.

My 9-year-old told a funny story tonight about Al Gore, who has made an appearance on nearly every cartoon show he has watched in the past year, usually voicing his own character.

I queried my son, "Can you tell me one fact about Al Gore?"

He considered for the briefest moment.  "He's the funny guy who cares about the environment.  He's in EVERY cartoon!"

"Besides cartoons, has he ever done anything important?" I asked my child, who can name several Roman emperors, the Greek and Roman pantheon of deities, the kings and queens of England, and most of our founding fathers, and pretty much every Pokemon ever invented.

"No, except for the environment."

"He was also the Vice President of the United States of America," my husband supplied, sotto voce.

"Oh."

My 12-year-old jumped into the conversation.  "I think we should have voted for Al Gore as president instead of George W. Bush.  He would have done a lot more for us as president."

"Why is that?"

"He'd have been more than just a party boy, and I bet he really WOULD have done some things to start cleaning up the environment."

There you have it.  Al Gore may yet be the smartest politician ever-- he has truly worked the smartest personal branding campaign yet.  Kids 12 and under know his name.  Apparently, some kids 12 and under have formed political opinions about him and his suitability for President and his capabilities for change.  Even younger kids have clearly associated him with environmental issues.  He has reached the younger demographic through a language they simply cannot miss-- by playing himself in their TV shows.  And by being funny.  I would bet that his branding has reached kids a bit older than 12 as well.  Six years from now, my 12 year old will be able to vote, and three years after that, so will his brother, and a few million other kids.  Every one of them will likely know "Al Gore, the environmental guy."

No matter whether Al Gore tries to return to politics or sticks with his environmental stumping, the kids will be watching; in fact they are already paying attention to him.  He figured out where his next core audience was, and grabbed their attention.