Brand Essence in Advertising

The message a brand tries to convey is the essence of what the brand is all about. I recently saw a Pampers ad which reflected the current position of the company. Initially, their advertising centered on a functional positioning, the new ad 'For every little miracle' tugs on your heart strings and has a decided emotional appeal which reflects the evolution of the brand especially in a very competitive market where you got to have more than just a functional edge, combined with Pampers well recognized name within the industry it would help in getting a leg up in the market.

Another advert which captured the brand essence beautifully was the new ad for the new VW beetle, 'Black  Beetle'. Its zippy, fast, kinda cute, and overall quite appealing, just like the new 2012 Beetle.

A great example of this is the Old Spice campaign. I have talked about it before, and the sheer loveliness of it, their new ad, with a new spokesman, while similar is just not quite the same. Somehow I feel that by copying it and trying to be similar the magic of it is missing, are they trying too hard?? is it too much to say bring back Isaiah Mustafa!

What is refreshing to see is a brand actually being critical of itself and its efforts to be environmentally responsible. I am talking about Starbucks and their critique of themselves for Earth Day. Through their advertising they hope to encourage their customers in participating with their recycling initiatives, in a win - win situation. 

A good way to measure up on how committed a brand is to the environment, would be to read the article "The 7 stage evolution of a socially responsible brand" by Simon Mainwaring, in which he highlights the seven stages a brand goes through to become socially responsible. Its a good tool to be used in measuring where on the ladder of responsibility a brand is. 

On a related note, the Nissan Leaf seems to be having some supply issues. Besides the States, the car is also available in Japan and Europe, but unfortunately production has not been able to keep up. Ideally it would have made more sense to launch the car in one country at a time, establish a strong base, satisfy demand, while steadily increasing promotion in other countries, or at least have a strong production base before having to face such issues, which only reflects poorly on the brand. This combined with increasing competition from the Volt and other brands, the Leaf is going to find itself in a tight spot. 

Ads:What are your examples of Great Ads?

Ads have a lot of responsibility in conveying the right image of the brand, it has to be consistent with their image, message and what they stand for.

Lately BIC's new virals for their BIC Flex 3 razor is brilliant. The ad itself depicts a Human Curling game, where a clean shaved man is slid across the ice to land on target, for an entirely smooth experience, its short, to the point, clever, original, funny, functional, engaging and memorable...exactly what an ad should be! And it is followed up by a game where you get to 'curl' first hand either using your webcam or keyboard. the webcam is definitely more fun..but tiring. Overall an excellent campaign in which the viewer is engaged and the point gets across..one of the very few.

On the other extreme is the latest Ford's 'inner child'ad which shows a teenager driving a new Ford  Focus who is so excited talks in a childlike voice...I'm not entirely sure what exactly Ford are trying to convey but neither is the message distinct or the ad remotely appealing, the sooner I forget about it the better.

Mark Bilfield's recent article on 'The Anatomy of a Great Ad' is a good read, he mentions what are the characteristics of a great ad, such as:

1. Does the advertising educate or entertain the customer in a unique way to be memorable
2. Does the medium persuade the viewer that the product or service is the best choice?
3. Is the product or service going to make me a better person or make my life easier/more productive?
4. Does the advertising tell me where to get more information to purchase your product? (Is there a clear call to action?)


He goes on to mention some examples of great ads including the recent Chrysler 200, Intel Core i5 processor, and one of my favorites the Girl Effect. What are your examples of Great Ads?

The ad edition

Is it just me or do ads seem to be getting just crazier? Remember when they had a message, stood for something, conveyed a feature, functionality or purpose? This is no longer the case. The primary function of advertisements now, is to engage consumers on a level where they will be able to promote the brand or the product.

Case in point is the viral Skittles campaign, if you haven't see it yet, see it here:

It is different, yes, engaging..not entirely sure, brand engagement...a maybe..but I have got to ask what is the main purpose of this campaign? What are Skittles hoping to convey with this? Many companies when planning a campaign of any form have objectives, goals, and how to measure it. With the advent of social media, the pre-planning phase has decidedly taken a back step, where priorities are how to become the next big viral sensation. But then what? What happens to the brand when the next big thing comes along? A campaign can only be considered successful if it accomplishes its goals, and not on the number of hits it gets.

Which brings me to Air New Zealand's new safety video which while entertaining, the main purpose of which was not encourage passenger safety but to promote the brand of the airlines itself...to what end?

One of the best advertisements I have recently seen is the 'Test your Awareness' campaign, which encourages users to keep their attention on screen in order to spot the difference, or count something etc. These ads test how alert the viewer is to what's going on but the odds are you are bound to miss something regardless of how perceptive you may think you are. Test yourself in the video below.

This campaign was to promote road awareness by Transport of London. The reason I find this to be a successful campaign is not because it's different or it stands out, but because it engages viewers, holds their attention and gets the message across! How aware are you?

I know recently talked about advertising for the iPad, but I was quite impressed by their latest ad for the iPad 2. Simple, visual, evocative and effective. It showed what it is capable of accomplishing, its features while depicting its effectiveness, its literally back to the basics for them, and its refreshing!

On a separate note, the Coke wars are now to include Coke light, where in an attempt to exploit the connection between fashion and being thin, Lagerfield himself, who is an ardent ambassador for the brand, has designed a selected range of Coke light bottles. Unique, snazzy and definitely tasteful it is an ideal positioning to the target audience. Sheila Shaynon, discuses it further in her article here. But what I want to question is the implications if it. Lagerfield famously lost 90 pounds by being on a diet of stewed vegetables and Coke light, thus explaining his love for the brand. But what does this mean for the average person? There is a lot of negative publicity when it comes to crash diets &  negative self images especially in teenagers, therefore for Coke is this a positive or negative implication for their brand, does it mean they support and encourage it? By using Lagerfield as an ambassador it certainly looks that way, but when he offers who can say no?

The Return of the Infomercial: What makes beer taste good?, Sex tips,Safe driving & more...

In my last post I mentioned about how Ikea have are phasing out their 100 watt bulbs and are now only selling their energy saving ones to display their commitment to the environment also along in line with California's state wide ban on the 100 watt bulb. But this change does not come easy as it involves educating consumers about the benefits and features of energy saving bulbs. This approach has been found quite favorable by many brands who have now taken to educating consumes about benefits in their product category, rather than just promoting their own brands. The return of the Infomercial?

This type of advertisement was used by the beer makers Samuel Adams in the US, in which they educate consumers that Beer tastes better when it comes in brown bottles, and fortunately for them all their beer is available in brown bottles. So is this truly for the benefit of the consumer or the brand? or do they both win?

This is also used in educating people for social benefits. One major problem in the States (and elsewhere) is
texting while driving, and to combat this the auto industry is coming up with a range of solutions which includes having an array of gadgets, hands free of course, on the dashboard to help, such as Chevrolet's voice to text feature which  enables you to access social media via voice controls.But is this enough? Often enough people have to be educated about the benefits and dangers of such devices, and one such example is Ford's campaign in US high schools to educate about safe driving.

Sometimes educating people is the best way to gain new customers. P&G have created a new microsite targeted towards men in which they educate them in virtually everything from money to career, relationships & sex etc. Through this they hope to create a central destination for men to go to when need information and they wish to discuss matters, a segment which has high growth potential. In the past, these type of sites have usually been targeted towards women, but now there is a growing realization that men would find these sites useful and they would use them, so men are not that different after all....But what does P&G hope to gain from this? Besides the fact that they offer products in all these areas and experts on the site would recommend their brand over others, thus creating a brand community of followers. P&G also offer a range of household products, and since men are increasingly active participants it can be hoped that their loyalty will extend to these brands as well. Check out the website: Man of the House

What is a Brand? Defined by what it says .. or what it does?

What is a Brand? Is it defined by what it does?

Recently a lot of brands have been more pro-active when it comes to social and environmental concerns, do these efforts reflect at all what a brand is about?

Toyota recently launched a crowd sourcing effort entitled 'Ideas for Good', where they invited developers to create apps that addressed social needs within their society out of which the 5 best app winners get the Toyota choice of their pick...hybrid of course. In this way Toyota wins threefold, it not only gets to promote its cars, re-brand itself as being socially conscientious and help others as well. They have a good chance of succeeding because this re-branding effort is reflected in their production of cars which are more environmentally friendly.



As Toyota are promoting their existing range, Ford have started promoting their almost complete electric vehicle the 2012 Ford Focus Electric even before its release. The campaign is centered around promoting discussions about electric vehicles (or EV) and the environment. Ford have been successful in the past with their social media campaigns, and while it is a good idea to create a buzz, such promotions need to be carefully monitored. Firstly, they have to ensure that there isn't too much hype that the car cannot live up to & Secondly, they will have to address consumer concerns such as 'range anxiety' which most electric vehicles face so as to curb the negativity on the actual product reviews. Maybe this would have been a good research initiative rather than a promotion?

Ford Focus electric badge

Levi's WaterLess Logo

While some brands promote their social goodness others prefer taking a low key approach where actions speak louder than words. I'm talking about Levi and their sustainable WaterLess denim, where they have cut back on the amount of water required to make their denim by 28% and that times 1.5m pairs is a significant amount, 16m liters less to be specific. This is an excellent initiative where by Levi's have demonstrated their commitment to the environment without all the bells and whistles, and the best part being....it costs the same! Although now it would be ideal if this would be done to ALL their denim, then they would be truly be called an environmentally friendly brand!

Ikea's Energy Saving Bulbs

Commitment to the environment is demonstrated by California's state wide ban on the 100 watt bulb, which has been picked up by retailers such as Ikea who have stopped selling th product and have switched to 75 watt bulbs instead, and sure they may be a little more expensive but it means lower electricity bills in the long run.  If you have the power to make a difference then why not??

What is a Brand? Farewell Ronald!

What is a Brand?: Is it based on its content? or the people who use it?

A prime example is Apple and the iPad in particular. While Apple has its own identity, when it comes to the iPad they have advertised it based on the apps it has, which indirectly defines its capabilities. While this is great, its different from most of Apple's positioning as its based on functionality rather than Apple's lifestyle branding. It also means that the iPad in itself does not have its own identity but its made up of what others think of it which in a way is very "social" of them as it depends on people (or app makers in this case) together to create what a brand stands for. As Apple describes it 'iconic', 'fresh', 'news', 'stories', 'teachers', etc...

Another brand who are defined by what they serve are McDonalds, once supposed to be restaurant for the entire family are now defined as 'fast food' and all the negative connotations that dredges up. Therefore it comes as no surprise that Ronald McDonald is being let go. While he has served as the mascot for a long time, fears of him appealing to younger children are behind this move. Overall it looks like a good idea, especially since they have been undergoing a brand change for awhile now, by cutting ties to the old image, McDonalds is on its way to re-positioning itself as an adult(?) healthy fast food option, and Ronald could be re-positioned as a mascot for the Ronald McDonald's house charities.


If I am to say that a Brand is defined by its content, what about Dunkin Donuts' latest move to position themselves as healthy? They are to introduce a new menu with healthy, protein based, wholemeal food, but this is somewhat at loggerhead with the image of a "Donut" which is definitely not healthy...so what are the chances of success for this brand extension? It would certainly require a massive image overhaul  and definitely it would be a good idea to start making healthy doughnuts. If a company wishes to change its image, it has to be done holistically and not just in those sections which are desirable.



Speaking of an image overhaul, Wikipedia is determined to change its status of not being allowed to be referenced academically, by inviting students and academics to submit their research papers to their ever-growing database. And having big names such as Harvard, California-Berkeley and George Washington University participate is a definite plus. And its about time as well, maybe with this effort Wikipedia might be finally accepted as a scholarly source, as the term 'Wiki it' is almost synonymous as to 'Google it'.


Branding usually meant that a company could choose how it would want itself to be represented, and they would take great pains to ensure that their products would be picked up and used by the right people to maintain that consistent image, and this is mostly true in the case of Luxury brands. In the case for cars, is the brand defined by how it positions itself or by the people who drive it? The Porsche has always been a sports car but their recent campaign, for the 911,  suggest otherwise. In it the car is put to a variety of uses generally reserved for a family car. In their statement if the car is used for everyday purposes then why not accept it? I'm a little unsure about this theory because then Porsche will not be a sports car but a family car, as it is to be defined by the people who use it. So will this help or harm the brand is yet to be seen.

What's in a Brand? Logos

What's in a Brand?: Is it defined by its Logo? OR even its Font?!

Starbucks' New Logo

Starbucks is still making news in regards to its logo change. Some are critics calling it too radical as it  alters  its trademark style and color combination which it has fought so hard to protect, as well as gets rid of all words going only with its mermaid icon. While I'm quite sad
 to see the distinctive color combination go, on the other hand I quite like the new direction. Starbucks has become such an iconic brand that it no longer needs to mention its name for people to recognize it, the mermaid in itself in quite recognizable and by focusing on it only its able to convey what the brand is. Another plus is that by removing 'coffee' from its name they are no longer restricting their brand to be viewed only as a 'coffee' house (although that is its primary produce) but it acts as a signal that its shifting into a lifestyle brand where it is to be viewed as a product to be consumed for leisure as it shifts into making available other drinks, as well as to be found on supermarket shelves.

While I feel Starbucks' logo change has been successfully carried out, I cannot say the same for the many other logo changes that have been cropping up (and yes there have been many). In these disturbed times, companies often feel that re-branding themselves to appeal to changing audiences always has to start with a change in logo design and I'm not sure why. A logo should only be changed if it provides added meaning, and recently a lot of brands have changed their logo design to no additional advantage, and even to an extent where it can be harmful to them. A few examples include: NBC, Seattle's Best Coffee, Kraft Foods and of course GAP. All of these have removed the distinctiveness of their logos and in such the distinctiveness of their brands. For eg: NBC's peacock symbolized that it was the first to offer color and sure it may not be relevant now, but it meant something and based on it, they were able to build strong brand. Ok so it may not have any value at the moment, but what does removing it achieve?....Nothing....!

Nokia New font & old font

Some companies like Nokia are even going so far as to change their font in order to "re-brand". Sure a font is important...but not when its one of the few (or only) changes made to help keep a brand afloat. Also it does not help when you can't tell the difference between the old and new fonts...unless you look really really hard. Nokia was good, Nokia was great! and we have all owned a Nokia at some point or another, but it is my personal belief that they need a lot more to help the brand rather than just a negligible font change. The main reason Nokia lost out was because they could not keep up so I'm going to wait and see what else they have up their sleeve as part of their re-branding strategy.

On special mention, I have to give a heads up to Lacoste who are trying to protect their logo and quite literally. Lacoste is a supporter of the 'save your logo' project which aims to encourage companies to support endangered species which act as a logo. A commendable project which not only does good but also says a lot about a brand and its commitment, and everyone wins!