A new AdWeek/Harris poll came out last week that reported younger Amercians did not consider a ‘Made in Amercia’ label to be much of a reason to purchase.

Only 39% of respondents aged 18 to 34 said they would be likely to respond to a made-in-America pitch compared to 60% of 35- to 44-year-olds, 68% of 45- to 54-year-olds and 74% of those are at least 55

Levis recently ran their ‘Go Forth’ campaign, featuring nationalisitc imagery and the poetry of 19th century radical Walt Whitman. While sometimes contentious, promoting nationalistic ideas helps unify people: urging them to rally around the founding notions of the country and around important idiosyncrasies that define its people. When brands speak about nationalism, it’s often locked up to a history of achievment and progress: key aspects of civil branding.

Through this communication Levis is updating the ‘Amercian Way’ and helping refresh notions of what it means to be living in America through a straighforward listing of values that embody it. When watching this, I realise how much effort it takes to keep these notions relevant in our minds. With so much changing, what does it mean to be Amercian today?

I don’t suggest that Brand America is in decline. The research only suggests that consumers may not be loyal to the ‘Union-Made’ label as much as they used to. However, it does point out that nationalism and ideas of unity take work to maintain. The previous administration did a lot to reduce the American image overseas and the acceptance of outsourcing has probably diminished the appeal of the Made in America label.

But nationalism lives on through brands and can be a progressive and unifying force. American Apparel promotes it own brand of Americana. One could argue that the Canadian-born head of the company represents the radical thinking best embodied by Walt Whitman and is perhaps the open, freedom-based spokesperson for 21st century America. The retailer even found a new way to resurrect the Made in America label.

The GAP used to be known for packaging Americana and selling it to the world. But the concept of America has been moved by retailers like American Apparel, so the brand is playing catchup. As The GAP demonstrates, promoting a national identity can be a very powerful tool, but it needs to be crafted and evolved in order to remain relevant.

Here’s one of my favourite nationalism ads. Being Canadian, I love the nudge-nudge approach that this beer brand has taken in trying to define that ever-illusive beast called the Canadian identity.

In closing, I thought I would point out Johnnie Walker, a British Brand, that uses almost exclusively American images in this progress-related spot to identify great moments of achievement in the last 100-years. As ironic as it may be, it’s hard to talk about the great moments of progress for the 20th century and not keep coming back to America.