I've been with Bell for many years for my cellphone plan and I have to say that the restrictions on what is allowed and not allowed has been a famous attribute of this company for years. Terribly expensive phones, and terribly expensive plans is also one of their attributes. What I can say though is that the customer service I experience is better than that of Rogers and Telus.
I also find the logo not as threatening as Rogers due to the fact that it shows human traits in the logo. The color blue isn't as aggressive as the Rogers red color plus I find the blue to be calming when I get angry with certain services.I can't seem to remember whether or not the logo changed, but this whole image Bell has has gotten me to stay with them.... even if there are better deals out there. I just like the customer service.
Bell
Free Rice
A website that tests your vocabulary, while helping the hungry? The connection is lost on me, but I'm all for any initiative that helps end world hunger. For each word you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. The companies that advertise on the site, pay for these donations.
As the staple diet for over half the world’s population, rice is a key component in WFP’s operations, and most is bought in developing countries, keeping the cost of reaching the hungry to a minimum and boosting farmers’ efforts to grow their own food.
Check it out: www.freerice.com
The importance of a name.
I spent the better part of an afternoon, a few days ago, thinking about the importance of a name... how my name (Catia) probably influences the way people think about me. Had I been called Jennifer or Olga, people would, instantaneusly, have a different impression of me. Sooo... the obvious conclusion is that the NAME of a product might also influence how people think of IT. Yada yada yada... this all brings me to a conversation I had with my boss (background: she works in a tv production company who primarily works on documentaries). The tvprod company she works for is doing a documentary on what goes into CAT and DOGFOOD... without getting into a long rant about some of the things I heard from her, here's the scoop: people are starting to care more and more about what goes into THEIR system and their beloved pets are being forgotten about because there is little to NO regulation in the pet food industry about what can be put into your pet's food.
Basically, for this project she made a concoction involving (among other things) an old leather boot, whey gluten, and saw dust... all pureed and made to look like pet food... AND IT'LL PASS TESTING. Ha.
And, what did she use as the name of her product?
"Old Boots" (but don't quote me because this isn't the part I was really paying attention to)
The logo?
A dog playing with a boot.
Alarming? Yes.
I can't wait to see this documentary when it comes out...
AND, also: wouldn't it be nice if things were labelled what they truly were?? Sigh.
Rayban
I think Ray Ban's original logo has been so very successful for creating a traditional, yet fun brand character. They have been very consistent with their look and identity which also gives them great equity as a brand. The application of the this identity is very unique, such as its placement, on the lense of the shades. It's a different approach and they are utilizing their products features cleverly. Their products last long and are very comfortable, I hope they never change their identity.
Apple one-day event
Once again, Apple did a great job in their advertisement. The design of the advertisement above looks absolutely beautiful, attractive and clever. This advertisement is about their one-day “price-dropping” event. Honestly, I have never seen Apple computers on sale before I came to Canada (there are no Apple stores in Hong Kong). They probably did it before as sneaky as this one, but I didn’t notice it. Even though, Apple computers do less price-dropping events than other computer retail stores. I actually think this is a good strategy of selling products because if they don’t drop the price often, people will not have to worry about fluctuating prices and price adjustments. This strategy especially works for Apple computers because they own their products. For other computer retail stores, if they have to compete with other stores, they have to drop the price. Therefore, I think this move of Apple is very clever.
Beyonce a total sell out?
So lately, i find myself singing songs by Beyonce all day everyday, and i've been wondering why? I dont own her CDs, download her music, or listen to her on the radio. Then it hit me, she has become a complete sell out. There is rarely an hour that goes by while watching prime time television without hearing a Beyonce song used to sell a product. From Rooms to Go, to new phones, she is using her name and voice to sell anything and everything. I think that a celebrity using being a spokesperson for a brand is a good way to reach your target market, however when a celebrity is selling things that she probably doesn't use, like Rooms to Go, then thats just a stupid for both the brand and the celebrity. Consumers will not relate your brand to the celebrity and fans of the celebrity will not feel the connection between such brand and celebrity. Heads up to all the future celebrities reading this, if your going to sell out, make sure it relates to you.
Sony Ericsson w580i
The Sony Ericsson w580i has been taken the cellular phone to the next level. This phone is capable of tracking down the number of steps you take everyday. It also analyse the data, and show the number of calories you lose that day. It can also given you a average, and can help you if you want to lost weight! Though the phone has a flaw, the 2.0 megapixel camera cannot zoom in. This is because Sony Ericsson also lauched a phone called s500, which essentially is the same phone with a different face housing. The s500 is target for regular use and can zoom in. the w580i is part of the Walkman line and is marketed for music. They basically just diabled the zoom in function which is retarded.
Brand Experience - Nissan
Just the other day a co-worker was complaining to me about her car. She drives a 2003
Nissan Sentra, which is their line of small family car comparable to the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla etc. She told me her car's not very reliable, and maintenence seemed to be an issue. Having never owned a Nissan, I would think Nissan makes pretty good cars since it is Japanese make. But when I asked her, she replied "yeah, it's a nissan" in a very un-enthusiastic tone of voice. She always told me a story of when she went for a check-up of the horrible customer service, and all the problems she had to dealt with from the car, and the people. After the short conversation, she got a bit aggravated and sworn to not ever buy a Nissan again.
No. 5 The Film
Chanel is an extremely well known brand, and has recently funded one of the most expensive commercials in history. It is called No. 5 The Film, and is a 180-second long spot starring Nicole Kidman. It had a budget of $42 million US dollars, which was funded by Chanel. It is a beautiful commercial directed by Baz Luhram, who also directed Romeo and Juliet as well as Moulin Rouge. I think that is an insane amount of money for one advertisement, however not only is the commercial amazing but it also makes the viewer want the product. I asked a few people for their opinions on the spot and they loved it, resulting in them wanting to purchase the perfume.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsdYPKGYxrI
Truck Art
some cool truck art ideas! i never seen any in Toronto yet.. but it would be cool to see this when we are stuck in traffic, but one problem is that some of this has to be seen in a certain perspective, for example if you were to be driving behind the truck, you wouldnt be able to see the whole thing. But other than that, very interesting and fun visuals.
what abt you?
CS3 has come up with new super simple looking icons.
Compare to the elegant and graceful CS2, these are more clean and recognizable
even though the colours are not as delightful as previous ones.
However there are no styles, doesn't really look they spent lots of time and had hard effort.
I read a lot of comments on the website about the new icons, most of people had negative opinions.
It's true that people want functional icons and they agree that the icons should have the name of the applications in it and Graphic icons grab the brains pattern recognition system easily.
Yet the fact they have the title "Adobe Design Premium CS3", they could have come out with better design , style and imege.
Superheroes: The Ultimate brands
What is one type of brand that has never changed has no need to change, and will forever remain timeless? Superheroes! Only recently have I begun to truly appreciate them with regards to branding solutions. First and foremost, the superhero’s identity must be addressed, as to how they are to appear to the general public. This includes their powers, their location, and even their personal philosophies. Two of the greatest examples are Superman and Batman, both appearing around 1938 -1939 respectively. How drastically have their logos changed? A few added bevels here and there, a solar flare, and the occasional gradient. The familiar black bat symbol and the encased S of Superman have remained the same. Why are they never re-addressed? Is it because of the audience and their need to see a familiar design for a timeless character, or is it the timeless character being associated with a time period? I personally feel it’s one of the few situations where the power of the brand prevents it from changing. It’s a weird instance where the brand itself is an expression of timelessness, as our children, grand children, and even great grandchildren will always be able to look at these characters and express the exact same opinions as us and our forefathers: They rock, even in their spandex.
Snickers Marathon: For Those Days You Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
While I am highly skeptical of Snickers putting out a legitimately non-disgusting "energy bar", I have to admit, I like these new ads. They depict people using muscles they didn't know they had, straining themselves doing ordinary, everyday activities, suggesting you need a Snickers Marathon Bar. It's cute, concise, and makes a half decent point, that sometimes you need a boost though the day because life may throw you half a dozen curve balls by lunch. I'm not sure I'm entirely convinced a candy bar is the way to go in such a situation, but it's a valid enough argument that I'm sure many will be stocking up on them soon enough.
McDonald logo
The McDonalds logo, like many of the other fast food brands logos, was developed in the 1970’s and although has had some refresh work done on it, still carries with it an old fashioned feel.
So what have they done then? Well they haven’t completely redeveloped their logo. They are holding on to the golden arches, which I think is a good thing because it is what they are famous for. They are not revolutionising their brand but evolving it, building upon the strength of the old design features and moving it forwards. Well as refreshing a brand goes, I think they have done a great job. They have kept and maintained the shape of their logo but rethought the way that it can be used. They have kept brand recognition so less discerning individuals will not get confused, they have simply reworked layout and colours.
Honda Rules!!!
This is a honda ad that follows the progress of a real Rube Goldberg contraption. This commercial took more than 600 takes before everything was able to work together.
I think the idea & concept is exceptionally brilliant for a car commercial. It shows that everypart from the little nut to the tires all work together. This gives me the impression that honda makes car that are reliable and dependable.
Perfect Couple
In my opinion, the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder is hands-down, one of the best looking luxury cars around. I think the way the laptop's lid slants downward toward the front bezel makes it look just like the hood of a real sports car. The brushed aluminum exterior is also strongly reminiscent of the car. Of course, no supercar laptop would be complete without an emblem and in this case, the distinctive raging-bull Lamborghini logo is stamped right in the middle. I think this makes the laptop display characteristics of elegance and power.
Bad Global Warming Logos
With everyone and their grandmother jumping on the eco cause, Copyranter (an NYC copywriter blog) posted his favorite worst global warming logos. They are broken down here so I won't get into who's logo is who's in your unfamiliar with all of these. I think whats interesting here is how much of an improvement some of these need. The terry-fox-esque race against global warming is just hideous. I think companies can find more unique ways to show the nature of this problem.
Simply Organic
The logo of the Simply Organic Company has impressed me with a good choice of a colour and the arrangement of types and the logo image. The olive colour gives the impression that the food products are really natural and fresh organic goodness. The image of using herbs is a wonderful choice for associating the brand concept, which provides 100% pure and natural organic herbs and spices and other fresh food. As much as they are one of America’s favorite organic brands, the design, itself is very modern with serif typeface and elegant in comparison to other organic food company logos. The company is proud of their innovation for bringing customers fresh and aromatic hand-selected seasonings of unsurpassed quality. The logo blends really well and fits into what its name reflects. I like the shadow under the herb’s image; it shows the aliveness of the fresh organic food in “3D” impact rather than a flat simple logotype design. However, I am kind of struggling of finding the meaning of ringing the lowercase of the letter “S” and the “O”. I am not sure if it is trying to show a connection of our life and nature but it is still a clever idea of making the logo more professional. I love the design, plus their packaging design of their food products, which are really attractive and gorgeous!
Will it Blend?!
I know we aren't supposed to post random things on here but I promise it has some degree of relevance.
Blendtec is a brand of blender which is in fact, the superior blender available in today's market. Most of us wouldn't know about it because unfortunately unlike their Cuisinart counterpart, Blendtec does not have the ad and marketing dollars to purchase conventional advertising.
So what is a brand to do? YouTube it baby!
Blendtec spent all of their ad and marketing dollars on a series of YouTube videos featuring the golden question, "Will it blend?"
The videos have gained much attention, interacting with consumers and getting fan mail and requests for what to blend next.
The most recent blended attempt? The iPhone.
Enjoy.
GO GO GO FEDEX - new campaign
Fedex launched a new global advertising campaign in the UK, France, Germany, Italy , India and other subcontinents. The print campaign was created by BBDO London, which was to help them communicate the role that FedEx plays in helping their customers realise potential opportunities and those prospects that are in local community or around the globe.
The ads will be implemented in various strategic print and online media provided in nine languages on their websites. You can view the Online advertising at www.experience.fedex.com. The new website is awesome and well designed. It is user friendly,interactive, and cool effects, the content itsefts is very helpful and gives the client/business owner a good understanding about trandsportation details, etc.
ANOTHER Apple praise.
I plug in my laptop, leave the room, come back and notice thick dust in front of my face.
I think to myself, "Wait a minute... this can't be dust. I don't live in a decrepit shack or creepy attic."
This faux dust was in fact smoke.
My AC charger was smoking. Following the dancing puffs of smoke came a 4th of July display of sparks.
How lovely.
I pulled out the cord immediately and called AppleCare.
Now, most people would be ENRAGED. I was somewhat enraged but after having a motherboard and two hard drives replaced, this was no shock to me.
After being on hold for 20 minutes I was still calm. Why do you ask? Why, when most people would be like, "What the Fork?!"
Well let me tell you why...
Time and time again, Apple always pulls through.
They have IMPECCABLE customer service. With each new fiasco, they make me feel like my case is the only one they are working on and my problem is of utmost importance. In the end, a solution is always delivered which simply adds to the greatness that is the Apple Brand.
Thank You Apple. Eventhough it is clearly a matter of time before my mac blows up, I remain loyal. Thank You.
Solo Mobile
While on the train today, me and a friend of mine saw a promotional ad by Solo Mobile. The headlines read "Now talk to your friends and relatives as long as you want" and had a picture of a guy by a tree drowned in fallen leaves to his chest while he is on the phone. Without realizing, we started critiquing the ad and we both thought the solo mobile logo is a very well done and creative logo but that ad was very ineffective. We both thought that they could've done that ad over-night. It doesn't have a good concept and its been done before over and over.
Wiki Logo
As I often depend on Wikipedia for quick online reference
I was curious as to who came up with their intricate logo:
I found out it was a created overtime after several modifications:
In 2001 Jimbo Wales used the American flag as a temporary Wikipedia logo
1.Nupedia logo was the next logo used, which lasted for 8 months
2. In 2001 Wikipedians suggested a new logo and out of a list of candidates the Cunctator was chosen as the winner.
The quotation which this logo is based on:
Man is distinguished, not only by his reason, but by this singular passion from other animals, which is a lust of the mind, that by a perseverance of delight in the continual and indefatigable generation of knowledge, exceeds the short vehemence of any carnal pleasure.
Taken from Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, Part I, Chapter VI:
Desire to know why, and how, curiosity; such as is in no living creature but man: so that man is distinguished, not only by his reason, but also by this singular passion from other animals; in whom the appetite of food, and other pleasures of sense, by predominance, take away the care of knowing causes; which is a lust of the mind, that by a perseverance of delight in the continual and indefatigable generation of knowledge, exceedeth the short vehemence of any carnal pleasure.
3. The late comer: Mark Ryan designed the Meta Logo, which was chosen.
4. International Effort: The logo of the time was only in English and therefore inconvenient for Wikipedians of other languages so they began to incorporate their own languages and nationalities into the logo.
5.Finally, an international contest was held for a logo that was suitable for all languages.Paullusmagnus developed the winning Puzzle sphere design. Variants on the final logo were then discussed with Nohat putting forward several options. One of Nohat's variants was chosen as the final product.
reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Logos_and_slogans
An Erotic Game Called Rape?
This Dolce & Gabbana advertisement was published in the March 2007 issue of Esquire Magazine; subsequently it was banned and never given the opportunity to be published in any other magazine.
"It is a provocative ad, but it is provoking things that really are not what we want to have provoked." - Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW). What are these things that the ad is provoking, you ask? Well, according to the worldwide protests that resulted in the ad's ban, it is provoking sexual violence and gang rape. Accoring to Stefano Gabbana, the ad portrays an innocent sexual fantasy or erotic game. A game? Scrabble is game. Does the female model in the image have the face of a girl that's enjoying a game of Scrabble?
Continuing on, despite the fact that D&G claim that the advertisement doesn't reflect the opinions/feelings of the company/brand, the ad was an in-house job.
POM - the superior juice packaging
The POM juice always catches my attention when going through the grocery store. The bottle shape stands out from the competition and is completely transparent, showing off the natural colour of the juice that claims to be "100% pomegranade juice". The simple POM logo that features a red heart symbol is grabbing and immediately screams "healthy" without even stating it.
Other juices, ie. Tropicana, tend to have nice illustrations of fresh fruit on their packaging labels but hide the inside contents. As much as these illustrations are convincing in an ad, I would say that the packaging just doesn't have the same impact on the shelf when its displayed next to POM juice that is not afraid to show its true colours.
Hail the Yellow Cab
New York City taxis have changed little since 1970, when all medallion cabs were required by law to be painted yellow (to distinguish them from gypsy cabs). But the recent redesign of the NYC Taxi logo is a sad example of the result of an unfortunate mishmash of city politics and tweaked by committee.
The goal was “To bring the taxi’s image into the 21st century, to appropriately celebrate its centennial and give a nod to the past while giving it a consistent, modern appearance,” said Allan Fromberg, a spokesman for the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
The first logo by Smart Design was simply the capital letters NYC, followed by slightly higher capital letters spelling TAXI. Smart Design moved the fare information panel from the front door to the rear door, where passengers were more likely to see it, and added a pictogram showing a person hailing a cab. It moved the medallion number to the rear of the cab, and added a streaming trail of rectangles to recall the historical Checker.
But city officials wanted something more “flashy”. After the Taxi and Limousine Commission and NYC & Company (the official tourism organization for the city), went over the design it turned into what you see above.
I think the logo is a secondary element in the branding of the taxis — I imagine very few notice the logo but everyone knows what the yellow signifies. I also think that the Crown Vic is a more powerful brand identifier than the logo they had or adopted.
