Political brands: Republicans dig Chick-fil-A, Democrats go Google

Brands favored by Romney fans are often different than the ones used by Obama supporters. Chick-fil-A, anyone?

By Tiffany Hsu

Oct. 25, 2012 12 AM PT

When Democrats and Republicans do reach across the aisle, chances are they’re not chatting about their favorite brands.

The blue party is big on Google, Amazon.com and PBS, while their red rivals are all about the Fox News Channel, Chick-fil-A and Johnson & Johnson, according to an annual report from consumer research firm YouGov BrandIndex.

There’s some overlap: Both political groups enjoy Cheerios, Clorox and Craftsman.

But it’s also been an election year where businesses have been vocal about where they stand.

Chick-fil-A’s president Dan Cathy’s comments on gay marriage sparked an onslaught of support and criticism this summer. Consumer perception of the fast food chain gained the most out of any other brand in YouGov’s list of more than 1,100. For the first time ever, it landed among the top 10 Republican brands, though it’s ranked 1,076th among Democrats.

Staples founder Thomas Stemberg lauded presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who sat on the company’s board of directors for more than a decade, at the Republican National Convention this year. The office supply business is ranked 46th among Republicans and 123rd among Democrats.

Earlier this month, a Twitter misfire from KitchenAid about President Obama’s deceased grandmother had many Democrats crying foul. Pizza Hut backed off a publicity ploy to get a question asked about pizza toppings during one of the presidential debates. Papa John’s founder John Schnatter warned that Obama’s healthcare reform plans could cause prices to spike.

The top 10 lists of brands ranked by youGov are listed below for Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

Democrats