Dollar ReDe$ign Project

In Our Constitution We Trust : The Liberty Bill

American Pride / Brand Manifesto
The Liberty Bill Act is an initiative started by teachers and students at Liberty Middle School, VA, which aims to amend the US currency to include an abridge version of the American constitution on the reverse of every single one Dollar bill: "Imagine seven billion one Dollar bills exchanging hands each day among the six billion people around the world ... the democracy, freedom and goodwill of the Constitution - America’s pride - on every single one." Backed by Congressmen Eric Cantor (R-VA) and endorsed by Ralph Nadar, the Liberty Bill Act is slowly moving its way up the Congressional ladder. Conceptually this act has much merit and we applaud the teachers and students of Liberty Middle School for pursuing their cause and for also gaining such widespread Congressional recognition too - its highly impressive to say the least. But what really makes this initiative interesting is that on many levels the Constitution represents America's 'brand values,' and it also outlines what defines America's 'brand personality.' Therefore, essentially the Constitution is the 'brand platform' from which any rebranding initiative could begin. And perhaps rather than including all seven articles and every 27 amendments on one bill, it might be clearer to communicate each one - or include a summary or use a visual metaphor instead - across several bills of every denomination. Then occasionally interject those with bills including visual representations of various national achievements - man on the moon and so on - and hey presto we have a complete 'brand communication program' based on what makes this country great. A communication program that represents a set of beliefs and values that we all - more or less - adhere to and believe in. Wow! I'm really beginning to see the 'light.' Next stop Washington.

Great Minds Think Alike : House Whip Wants to Redesign the Dollar Too!

THE LIST GOES ON ...

House Whip, Eric Cantor, the Right Honorable Congressional Member for Virginia's 7th District, has recently proposed legislation to redesign the one dollar bill. Specifically, the "Liberty Bill Act" – as it's officially known, or H.R. 2854 if you really want to get specific –anyway, the legislation would “require the Secretary of the Treasury to redesign $1 Federal Reserve notes so as to incorporate the preamble to the Constitution of the United States," plus it should include "a list describing the Articles of the Constitution," as well as "a list describing the Amendments to the Constitution, on the reverse side of such notes,” and, a list of the top 10 grossing movies of all time, a list of everyone at REO Speedwagon's farewell concert, AND a Twitter link so you can track how your Dollar's are actually being spent these days ... actually we made those last few things up. Sorry!

However, according to the Conservative Compendium blog "the bill states that Congress finds that 'many Americans are unaware of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States, one of the most remarkable and important documents in world history'.” Which is true enough. In "fact" Mr Cantor would also like every American to read the constitution to their children each and every night and implores each and every one of us to ensure their child can recite the 'preamble' word for word by the age of 5 ... just kidding, we made that last lot up too. Sorry :-( ... just kidding ...

But seriously, in response, earlier today we reached out to the Right Honorable Members, Mr Cantor and Barney Frank (D-MA) – who chairs the House Financial Services Committee – to ask them to perhaps consider going a little further. Even though we applaud their move and believe their idea to include the preamble etc is a good one, we urged both Mr Cantor and Mr Frank to reconsider the proposed legislature, completely. We suggested that maybe they think about the bigger picture too for a moment.

Imagine a nation standing behind a common goal, contributing towards a common interest, believing in a common ideal – and believing that our country is "broke" but "we" can fix it – it just seems "we're" running out of time (and money too).

Yet, we truly believe that rebranding the world's most powerful brand – the mighty Dollar bill – is the catalyst this country needs to get itself restarted, and inviting every American into that conversation is an exciting possibility that really must come to fruition. Mr Cantor, Mr Frank, we look forward to hearing from you very soon.