Tommy Hilfiger's new campaign dodges politics by transforming America into Americana

As a supporter of the "Brought to you by" model, I’m interested in the upcoming new television series and book "Tommy Hilfiger Presents: Ironic Iconic America".

What warrants discussion here is Hilfiger's long history of piggybacking on a bigger brand: the brand called "America." Hilfiger often treats the flag like product placement—behind models pretending to tie knots on vintage Chris Craft on Lake Tahoe, or on giant lawns at old Cape Cod Houses built and bought when America stood for something less complicated than it does today. It's sentimental, upper-class patriotism, not that of the flag waving, gun toting Bible-Belt redneck families who have to worry about their sons being Stop-Lossed or their houses foreclosed by banks who are technically bankrupt themselves, etc. And I'm very OKAY with that. They won't buy $120 jeans (and certainly not when they're called "denim") even if they could find a store close enough to reach on one tank of gas in their 2006 Ford F-series.

But, regardless, having America be a cornerstone of your branding must have raised some tough questions over the last few years. What do you do when the stripes don't wash off your brand easily and don’t seem as vibrant as they used to?

Hilfiger could have whimped out: Simply continue the photo shoots in a more unspecific U.S., leave out the flags, leave colonial summer houses out of the frame and tone down whatever else could come across as a tad naive or detached, even for a privileged reality.

Instead, the company did something braver and more committed. It took a closer look at America. Specifically, the "iconic"—but also, quickly added, the "ironic". Moving away from politics—as far as humanly possible—and turning toward the quaint: Americana ... the snap, krackle and pop alternative reality. The big question is asked somewhere deep down on the website: What is America? And the choices offered are: "...Barbed Wire and the Can Opener ... the Declaration of Independence and Bob Dylan and Groucho Marx. Alfred E. Neuman and Muhammad Ali, Dr. Spock and Dr. Strangelove, the Edsel and our landing on the moon." What is NOT on the list, obviously, is the more important stuff.

To ensure a defensible POV for the television series (Bravo, October 2), the host is a poet. An artist. He knows history, too, so he claims. And he's known from HBO's Def Jam. But the key here is poet. He's not burdened by journalistic ambitions. And he's not someone who really works or needs to. He isn't stuck with anything that will raise political flags. Tagging along for the ride across the U.S. is a foreign (of course) supermodel. She's from Israel, and I’m not sure what to make of that—but it's highlighted in the trailer so it's significant for someone. Further commentary on her origin is void, however, as she is just as happy, enthusiastic and dumb-witted and gorgeous as we want our supermodel travel companions to be. (Had she been Swedish, it would not have made a huge difference here for anyone but me.) We want her there to look good, love what she sees and give faint hope of sex somehow happening after closing credits. She is a perfect distraction for anyone trying to seriously think through the question raised: What is America?

Hats off to the brand strategist here. This was a committed move—followed through in Mr. Hilfiger's preface to the book: "In a sad time of self-inflicted anti-Americanism... I have endeavored to craft an enlightening book that reminds the world, as well as our fellow citizens, of the variety and magnificence of American pop culture." Mr. Hilfiger also suggests his book might help us find a way forward. Not sure that we will trust him with the bigger picture stuff. But yes, a poet and a supermodel sidekick to guide us through pop culture seems like a viable strategy to navigate the difficult waters of being attached to the American brand today.

And, sure, a sentimental take on pop culture on Bravo—that's probably the best the U.S. can offer right now.