"Operation Coffeecup" - Reagan's Viral Marketing Campaign Against Universal Healthcare

Yesterday at a neighbor's estate auction, I bought an old vinyl record.  Actually, I bought a box of records for $5, and gave them all away but the one I really wanted: "Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against SOCIALIZED MEDICINE." 

Issued in 1961 by the American Medical Association to its national "Woman's Auxiliary," the Reagan monologue was played at gatherings of neighbors and friends hosted by doctors' wives that were called "Operation Coffeecup."  Featured in Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" for sardonic comic relief, the campaign was a response to efforts by Congressional Democrats to pass an early version of Medicare.  Told to "put on the coffeepot" and "invite an audience" to listen to the record, members of the AMA Woman's Auxiliary were provided with these explicit instructions on creating letters to members of Congress:

Make letter-writing easy. Provide guests with stationery, pens and stamped envelopes. Don't accept an "I'll do it tomorrow" reply--urge each woman to write her letters while she's in your house--and in the mood! Advise your guests that letters should be short and to the point, objecting to the King bill (HR 4222) and giving reasons for opposing it. Each woman should write her own letter in her own words, not merely copy a stereotyped form. See that each woman addresses her own letters to her own congressmen on the spot. You can mail them all later. A list of congressmen, with instructions for addressing letters to them, is enclosed.

Because the campaign was not publicized, Congressional recipients thought the letters represented a genuine groundswell rather than an astroturf campaign. You can hear Reagan for yourself and read the rest of the record's liner information here.

In the Huffington Post, RJ Eskow puts "Operation Coffeecup" in context:

This was a very imaginative tactic for the time. "Coffeecup" meets today's criteria for a "viral" marketing campaign: It was designed to appear spontaneous rather than organized and well-funded. It used word-of-mouth communication backed by prepackaged content. And that content that used some of the finest media technology then available - full sterephonic sound reproduction!  

The "Socialized Medicine" record was Ronald Reagan's first venture into political speech. It didn't just represent smart, well-funded political strategy. It also launched a career that in turn brought about the conservative revolution. Reagan's efforts in "Operation Coffeecup" were so well-received that he was invited to give a speech for Barry Goldwater at the 1964 GOP Convention.

The rest, as they say, is history.

So I now own a piece of political history. It might prove useful as the Wisconsin legislature struggles to reconcile the Assembly's slash and burn budget with the Senate's "Healthy Wisconsin" plan. We can expect much demonizing of the plan by Republicans, who love the old "socialized medicine" canard. Let's wait and see who they trot out to play the Reagan role.  (Tommy Thompson is available again, for a fee.)

- Barry Orton

 

Comments

[james wigderson]

Do you want to trade it for my copy of the children's book, "A Day at the LBJ Ranch"?