Gillette’s recent “The Best A Man Can Be” ad has caused a lot of controversy. Most people seem to be relying on their own personal opinions and preferences to criticize (or praise) the effort. But I thought it would be more helpful to examine the ad from an advertising strategy perspective and try to identify […]
brand-as-business bit: How did Get Lucky, the catchy pop single by Daft Punk, get to be considered the hit song of the summer? According to a write-up by Eric Spitznagel in a recent Businessweek article, the group and its producers employed smart marketing strategies that provide inspiration for all marketers: media selection – Daft Punk […]
brand-as-business bit: When the folks at HBR Blog asked me to write a piece about why are so many celebrities now ‘Creative Directors,’ I had a lot of ideas and insights about the changing nature of the brand/celebrity relationship to share. But actually progressive companies have actually engaged this kind of celebrity partnership for years. […]
brand-as-business bit: “Don’t say it, be it” – as in “don’t say you’re cool, be cool” – has to be one of the most well-known principles in advertising. And yet we see so many brands fail to heed it. The most recent offender? Apple. I’m sure there are a lot of people who disagree with […]
brand-as-business bit: How do you create desire? Diamond brand De Beers and Frances Gerety, the copywriter behind the company’s tagline, “A Diamond Is Forever” showed us how. A recent terrific piece in the NYT outlined their approach: appeal to emotions: “Sentiment is essential to your advertising, as it is to your product,” Gerety’s agency N.W. Ayer […]
For a campaign that was intended to inspire people, Dove’s Beauty Sketches has received quite a bit of criticism. Among the complaints lodged have been: […]
I’ve always been fascinated by movie trailers – not for how they entice people to see movies, but for the insights they provide into how to make great ads. After all, ads and trailers serve a similar objective: convert viewership into action — buy a product or go see a movie. […]
In elementary school, there was a boy who really wanted me to “go steady” with him (yes, that’s what we called it back then.) He pursued me fervently and eventually persuaded me to say “yes.” Then, he proceeded to instruct me not to tell anyone about our amorous relationship because he didn’t want people to […]
BurgerKing, Volvo, Coke, LEGO, and ShoeDazzle were some of the brands in my recent conversations. Peruse this recap of my content this month to see what you might have missed: […]
A new definition of brand. Inspiring employees. My take on the Super Bowl ads and the new Taco Bell tagline. Check out my writings on these and other topics in the following “brand-as-business buffet,” a round-up of content from me from this past month. retail and restaurants: How to Keep ‘Em Coming Back — my […]