Drink milk love life~!

Whenever I pass the Milk AD billboard, I always overwhelmed about their Advertisement. I think this is one of the great example of most effective advertisement especially for the young generation who are living in the image dominated world. Without a single word, the image conveys its quintessential message to the onlookers. Milk poured into a bone is very persuasive! It is just simple but it tells everything why we should all drink milk. It’s also effective in a country of a multicultural background. There’s no language involved. It’s a Universal language.

…just brilliant!

Superiority Complex

When I first saw these Somme Institute skincare products, I was very impressive by their simple and clean looking of bottles. The white surface and a single coloured dot create a strong effect of its appealing to the consumers. Even there aren’t any tags or logos on the products, and the appearance of products themselves is already the best logo. As it is so easy to be recognized, they have already made their brand stand out successfully by its simplicity.

On the other hand, the Somme Institute doesn’t want its skincare to be known for its clean, uncluttered bottles and graphic colour coding, but rather for its star ingredient, MDT5. The result of seven year’s research, this vitamin complex promises efficient delivery to the parts of the skin that need it most.

Ouch..

Alright so Quarks got this new logo, its looking great. I can see the semi crucial / semi triangle have been combined to make a cool sleek modern "Q"... but wait the Scottish Arts Council has already been at the finish line for over 2 years now! OUCH that must have hurt... i wonder how much money and time has been put into a project like this ... is quark looking to rebrand again after something like this happens? And one more thin, i personally think the Q suits the Quark ...because i just don’t see it in Scottish Arts Council.

what is this ad about?

Honestly, I don’t usually buy condoms in the store. I usually just get them in the medical clinic for free. Therefore I don’t know much about condom brands, especially in Canada (I am from Hong Kong). The first time when I saw the advertisement of “Life style” in TTC subway station I absolutely have no clue what the brand “life style” is about. The primary tagline in a silly typeface and an “undo” keyboard key and a gross looking guy who has a grimace, are just too unappealing. The most significant thing is the word “condom” that is so small and sneaky, where it’s placed below the brand “Life style”. The only hint of message in this poster is the small tagline on the right bottom corner “Protect your sex”. For people who are new to condoms and never heard of this brand before, probably don’t know what this advertisement is communicating. Moreover, I think the focus of the target audience in this advertisement is not clear as well. It’s too immature for mature audiences to look at and the message it too ambiguous for younger audiences to be interpreted. I think they need a better poster in terms of targeting the right audience.

I'M NOT A PLASTIC BAG!

So during the summer i heard my friends were talking about this eco-friendly bag designed by Anya Hindmarch in UK, and they were obsessed with the bag. Hindmarch designed this bag to increase awareness of the enviornment and to reduce the use of plastic bags. Celebrities were being photographed carrying the bag, since It was on sale for only £5, and becasuse of the limited quantities, people were lining up 2am in the morning in order to purchase the bag. The bag also created enormous attention and popularity in Asia, people were fighting at the line up that police had to be involved to maintain the order. The bag also had gone up to £200 on ebay which is unbelievable.

A bag that was orginally designed to raise awareness about the enviornment ended up being every gril dream "it" bag, people who were fortunate to buy the bag aren't even using it as bags when go to grocery shopping, but as their fashion purse. After all, its had became a fahsion item rather than saving the enviornment. If people really care, they would buy the bags that president choice came out with, on sale for only $0.99.

Atheism and Branding

American author Sam Harris (The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation) recently suggested that those with a lack of belief in a deities refrain from calling themselves Atheists. He also proposes that monikers such as Freethinkers, Brights, Rationals, and Non-Theists no longer be used. The reason is branding. Harris believes that terms like these carry such negative connotations that they do more harm than good. He believes that Atheists should stop self-identifying altogether.

I have to agree that the term Atheism does bring with it a lot of negative connotations, but whether or not a change in name (or lack of identification) will benefit those with a lack of belief is difficult to gauge. I think that this is one of the few occasions where a name-change won’t have any benefit; we’re talking beliefs here, not products.

Click to read the article on Sam Harris.

Branding and Branding.

Branding can be described as any technique to mark livestock in order to identify its owner. Originally it solely referred to burning with a hot iron, although now it also refers to ear marking, freeze branding etc. It creates a permanent identity to prevent livestock left, loss and/or disputes. Today, we have a slightly different meaning for “branding” which describes creating an identity for a company or organization. Although this term has two meanings, there are many similarities between the two; livestock branding is permanent, and a good brand will last a lifetime, both act as indicators to the owner/ company and give them credit for their work. As well, so the company doesn’t want their ideas to be plagiarized just as the farmer doesn’t want his cow stolen. Their goals are also similar, if not the same- to sell their products. It’s funny how one solid concept can work just as well in two completely different environments.

Wii Will Rock You!!

Many people will spend hundreds of hours to finally to defeat Cupa while playing Super Mario. Tetris, on the other hand, has a challenge of building shapes, while being mentally stimulated by eight beat background music. Both of these games have been a source of enjoyment for many players throughout their childhood and into their adulthood. With many advances being made on a daily basis the once 2 and 3-dimentional games can now be played on a varied ranged of graphics.


Nowadays the most advanced and spectacular of these new systems is the Wiii, which is a product of Nintendo, offers a wonderful graphic design, in a very modern, sleek, and attractive case. In my opinion, I think I would prefer to call Wii a magic box than video game system. For functionality, Wii is a compound of diverse design that Nintendo has ambitiously promoted. Traditionally, video game controllers have been one-piece objects with face buttons, analog sticks and D-pads. However, Wii’s controller is not traditional. It’s new-age and it’s hoping to shake up the industry.

Bling H20... more than a pretty taste?

Upon discussing bottled water (in general, and bringing up some issues that we discussed in class two weeks ago) with a friend, he indicated to me that he had recently heard of "BLING H20" as in... WATER. IN-A-FREAKIN'-BLINGED-OUT-BOTTLE. This is the most outrageous thing I have ever heard. At $40.00/bottle, is ANYONE STUPID ENOUGH TO BUY THIS? I know we live in a material world and all, but c'mon people!

I have to give it to them, though. They have a pretty logo, and it's quite appropriately "blinged out"... also, the website shows a girl showing a lot of skin with glittery jewels and all that jazz... they're trying to sell a lifestyle, I suppose. But $40.00/bottle??? I'm just in disbelief. I thought EVIAN was expensive...

Chupa Chups!

I came across the brand Chupa Chups and wondered about its identity.
Origin: Barcelona by Enric Bernat 1958
Currently owned by: Dutch/Italian corporation called Perfetti Van Melle
The word: ‘Chupar’ in Spanish means to suck

Logo: Logo was designed by surrealist Salvador Dali, and their marketing logo in Spanish was “Its round and long lasting”
Celebrity endorsements include Madonna. In 1980 they campaigned “Smoke Chupa Chups”, to attract adult consumers – innovative; football coach Johan Cruyff used to smoke 20 packs a day but he quit undergoing surgery and began chain sucking Chupa Chups.

Chupa Chups and Subculture: It is known they had an product/subculture association during the 3rd generation raver period. The colours of Chup Chups wrappers reflected their aesthetic style and it is said they sucked Chupa Chups to prevent teeth grinding which was a result of ecstasy use during these raves.

If I were to purchase lollipops, I prefer Chupa Chups because I really enjoy the taste and various unique flavours i.e. Strawberry Vanilla, Chocolate Mocha, unlike the usual sucrose flavoured lollipops. Chupa Chups (sizes) satisfies the enjoyable taste you crave for and their lollipops aren’t overly sweet having more of a creamy taste. They usually come in a flowery display, displaying each lollipop, or sometimes, they come in large milk containers with cute illustrations ie. farm and cows. The also have subbrands, toys, dental lollipops, mint gums. They are very up to date in terms of branding, consumer interaction, social/health/economic responsibility, which I was surprised to see. For a brand, that I thought was low key, is actually well established and in tune with the branding culture. Check out their website for details.

As for the logo, I think it’s a unique logo (designed by Salvador Dali!), its very appropriate for the product, friendly, fun, and colourful, smartly designed compliment the shape of the product. I appreciate their unique typographic treatment, font choice, colours (appetizing) and the derivative of the word Chupa Chups - it relates to the sound you make when your sucking a round lollipop. Aesthetically, I think it’s a very successful brand that appeals and compliments all aspects of a product; visual identity, sound, taste, look and feel. Even though I don’t see much marketing for this brand or at least here in Toronto, I find that the taste of this lollipop is one of a kind and essentially speaks for itself.

Reference: Wikipedia, www.chupachups.com

Good sportmanship

Good sportsmanship

“Isn’t PUMA great?”, “Check the new Rebooks”, “Nike has great ads” is Adidas new campaign. As I stated before in a comment I love sports and sport companies, one reason is because their ad campaigns are just intelligent. Usually this companies inviting engage with them, to move u and inspire you, and most of the time they do.
This new campaign is clean, simple and engaging, while the message is complex and the typography in a way messy. I would see that people laugh with the ads; there is a sense of confidence, and sarcasm in it.
One way of looking at the campaign is that they remove themselves from selling the products, but they go to their main audience ideals, sports and sportsmanship. It is not about wining but about the competition, people that like sport for the sake exercise and healthy competition would feel strongly related to these ads. They make you feel confident and intelligent.

Guerrilla Marketing...gone wrong?

Audi apparently thought it could pull one over on the residents of Toronto, but it got caught. The automaker from Ingolstadt applied for a permit from the Film and Television Office of Toronto to shoot a commercial that would allow it to place double "T" statues that measure six feet high and fifteen feet long all over the city for a period of three days. A press release issued by Audi, however, confirms that no commercial would be shot, but rather that the statues are meant to act as billboards advertising the new Audi TT. The placement of the statues as advertisements, though, violates the city's signage laws, and they were removed soon there after.

In a word where Guerrilla, and ambient advertising is fast becoming the norm, do we need laws in place to regulate this unique form of marketing? Is that even plausible given the random nature of the advertising technique. For me, Guerrilla advertising can produce some of the most interesting and innovative ads out there to today. But it raises the question, should it be regulated in some way? Are their public places that advertisers should be not be allowed to leave their mark.

GM Redesigns the Chevrolet Malibu

GM has redesigned the Chevrolet Malibu completely and is about to launch it in the U.S.. General Motors wants to squandor the thoughts of those who believe that Detroit can't make a competitive vehicle. They are tired of the Chevy Malibu seeming like a foreign car in its own country.

There is a three phase approach to their launch and it is said to reach over $150 million by the end of it all. Campbell-Ewald, Warren, Mich. (the agency heading up the launch) has tagged the campaign with "the car you can't ignore". The challenge will be far from easy though as the target audience is very skeptical about domestic car brands. Kim Kosak (another head of the production) said "We're going to shock the system and get their attention because we're not on their radar screen." With this new launch they hope to generate 5 million new visitors to the chevy.com site everyday. They are launching all over the web along with 172 billboards and of course there are 15 new 15 second commercials.

The second part of the phase will be to bring awareness to what the experts are saying about the car. One quote that will run is "Beware Camry," from Car and Driver Magazine. These quotes will run as print ads all over.

An interesting aspect of this campaign is that they want to increase their female buyers by 10%. They are running the ads on 'Lucky" and in Vogue, Conde Nast and other women's magazines.

The Final phase of the launch is called the "enroll" which will include more tv commercials but GM wont disclose details about it.
All in all I think the Malibu needed a facelift and a new niche in the automotivve world. Frankly Malibu was not even a car I thought about before reading of this but now I'm intrigued. I'll keep a lookout for the new ads and see if it they really do change my mind about the Malibu.

Nokia Design

These are the new approach of Nokia in coming years. There are 4 topics:Achieve, Connect, Live and Explore. From the movie, we can see they have been successful to design the outlook, functions, interface and usage of the new phone. It is very interesting that designers had been spent more than 5 years to add mp3 into cell phone by using the past technology, but now they can use shortern time for creating a new cell phone cluture which also involves sensation and visual elements. By the way, the movies are really attractive even they are just using pictures to connect as a movie.

Link:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=NokiaDesign

web-tastic

I was surfing the Internet this week, when I came up with the idea to research Smirnoff vodka. I was thinking how they are a well-known brand, with not a lot of advertising, but whenever I feel like drinking vodka I usually pick up a bottle of Smirnoff. I recall a couple of print ads, but nothing very significant or memorable. So, what do they have that’s better than other vodka’s? Well, for one I think it tastes better than other brands, but they also have an outstanding website. It’s interactive flash presentations that provide a brief history and tell about their various products. It describes the story of Smirnoff, then with information you type into the website, it creates your own Smirnoff animation. I think it’s a brilliant and interesting design that keeps in sync with their brand character.
www.smirnoff.com

A Blunt Edge

I've been listening to 102.1 The Edge since I was a little kid. While in the last few years they seem stale and conservative compared to what I listen to these days, locally they're still the best on the air in my opinion, and the couple of radio announcers I've known would give their eye teeth to work there. The Edge kicks ass. That's why it pains me why their logo sucks so hard. I hate to be negative but for quite a while now I haven't been able to figure out why they don't hire someone to redesign their visual branding so it will at least match their audio imaging (imaging being the audio equivalent of branding, an example is what it sounds like when they announce the station name between songs). Their imaging is so strong yet their logo lacks any imagination. It's a terrible acid washed font in front of what always reminded me of a brick of cheese. Such an awesome station should not have a logo so ugly it's actually made for radio.

Responsible Design

Mattel (Barbie) has recently launched a new product called "Fashion Fever".

It is basically shopping boutique playset for children aged 5 +. It basically

comes with little store and outfits for your doll, and a "credit card" like card that you

could swipe to complete the transaction. This is meant for the little girls to get that

Shopping Experience (as if they're aren't getting exposed to that early enough).

Yeah, it might be fun and all, but it doesn't teach the children any kind of responsibility.

Being at a young age, they haven't even developed a sense of what's right or wrong.

Products like these aren't neccessarily "bad" as long as you teach them appropriately,

but children don't know, thinking credit cards = free money.

Signboard on the floor

While I was walking on Bloor West Street, I found out a very interesting restaurant logo on the sidewalk. It was an Italian restaurant. Its logo appears as an angular reflection across the sidewalk. It made to appear as if you were looking into a mirror. If you are walking along the sidewalk, you cannot miss this creative stenciling. This form of advertising is very effective as you continue to focus on its appearance in the distance and continue to look at it as you approach. It is a very creative way of advertising, one that does not impede pedestrians as they walk down the street, or would be lost if it were a billboard or sign post attached to an overhead building. It is a proven fact that most people look down at the sidewalk when they walk along a street. Some people have a reason for their journey or others are just strolling along; people normally like to see where they are stepping. People might be curious what it is and where the sign is from. They would look inside the window and realize it is an Italian restaurant. This is how the restaurant promotes their existence and attracts people to come inside. It is very impressive! The branding itself is extremely innovative and effective. I like the font that they used to introduce the name of the restaurant, with a beautiful curve and its simplicity. The way of spreading the typography from the one point, it associates dispersing of light from a light bulb. However, an observer must concentrate on all the letters together, focusing on the combination to realize the overall objective, at this point the restaurateurs have achieved their goal; they have a captive audience!

uselessness ...

For those who have way too much money to spend or who wants to get robbed while walking down the streets, you might want to chack out iwhats new in Swarovski stores. Swarovski has came up with a new product line called "Active Crystals" which is in partnership with Phillips technologies. This line is composed of Swarovski designed USB keys and headphones, which I find pretty useless. But than again, Crystals in general are pretty useless cause they have no practical function besides being aesthetically beautiful (so i guess it works?)

However, I do find the partnership between the companies a bit odd, due to the fact that Swarovski usually only partners up with fashion houses like Gucci, DG etc. So maybe they are trying to branch off into another sector. But is it working? Would someone actually pay 200 dollars for a 1G USB key?

Advil vs Generic Ibuprofen

While in a Rexall pharmacy the other day I saw the pain relief section and remembered that the brand research paper was due next week, thus I decided I needed some Advil. Now as someone who has probably used Advil all their life, it has become synonymous with the drug Ibuprofen, as Kleenex is for many people the "word" for tissue paper. Faced with two purchase options on the shelf, Rexall's own brand of Ibuprofen (unfamiliar to me as this was my first time in a Rexall pharmacy) and the my trusty Advil. While the Advil is more expensive, I honestly thought to myself that if I bought the Rexall brand, it might not be as effective. Call me paranoid and stupid, but I trust the Advil brand since I've used it all my life. I'd like to think that I am the type of consumer that might have made a different decision, depending on my mood. I guess on this particular day I wasn't looking to take adventure with uncharted territory.

Beautiful Soap

Over the past year or so, amongst the overall depressing, yet colorful designs of hand soaps, shampoo's and other alike products, one particular brand has stood out: Method. Just looking at the design made me want to buy and use the product, the strategy was clearly working. I first heard about the new design through some friends who knew the designer, a somewhat part-time faculty member at OCAD, Karim Rashid. Karim is an international industrial designer who is very established, which helped the modern looking product evolve and finally launch. Overall, I love the product design and appeal, and on top of that, it cleans your hands.

Beautiful Soap

Over the past year or so, amongst the overall depressing, yet colorful designs of hand soaps, shampoo's and other alike products, one particular brand has stood out: Method. Just looking at the design made me want to buy and use the product, the strategy was clearly working. I first heard about the new design through some friends who knew the designer, a somewhat part-time faculty member at OCAD, Karim Rashid. Karim is an international industrial designer who is very established, which helped the modern looking product evolve and finally launch. Overall, I love the product design and appeal, and on top of that, it cleans your hands.

Brandless

As part of my thesis project I've researched a number of issues concerning branding and consumer culture and the effects that these have on society as a whole and well as people individually. I came across Japanese brand called MUJI, a retail brand that sells household goods and is a "brandless" brand. It focuses on providing design minimalism, recycling, avoiding waste and has a no-logo product policy even though many of its most popular products are designed by some of the most well know product designers. And as brandless and minimalist as it is, it still has a logotype and a name that places itself on store fronts and shopping bags.It is interesting to think about how much brands really influence our lives and make us almost immune to our social and environmental responsibilities.

Source Medical

Everytime i see this logo on the company truck i have to pause and observe it again and again. I love the simplicity, the look the structuure and the color sheme used. Typography is carefully executed and kerned to make it pleasing to look at, legible and readable. I love the way the E at the end of "Sourse" is integrated into the structure of the cross, which is a symbol for medical institutes. The cross itself is not done like any other cross is done. Instead of possitive space, they used the negative space (white space) to suggest the shape of the cross, allowing those three other blocks to act as graphical elements to beautify the logo. Having the word "Medical" in gray allows for a good color complimentary to occur with the blue. Overall, i would give this logo a high rating of 8 over 10, leaving room for improvement. It is not a boring logo and one can tell that time went into its production.

Brand yourself

In society these days, a name is so much more than a name, it’s a brand. Barbara Solomon may just be my name, but as you get to know me, a brand is conceptualized. You can predict my moods, the conversations we'll have, and sometimes what I’ll be wearing, if not outfits at least colours. We make a name for ourselves from our personality and appearance; in many ways the same as a company or corporation brands themselves to the public. Think about the famous branded people around the world, people Donald Trump, Paris Hilton, even train wrecks like Brittney Spears. We can expect how they will act when in public situations. It is important as young creatives to brand ourselves from head to toe. Our personalities should reflect in our everywhere, from our outfits to our resumes. Enjoy branding yourself; it will be the biggest campaign you get to work on.

Fancy pants

October 2007

The other night while I was out I walked into Shoppers Drug Mart for some gum and I noticed this month's Esquire magazine and I had to buy it. There was a charm, something about the an old ugly actor with a very fine suit that made me want to see what else the magazine had to offer. I've personally never picked up a magazine for men, but this was the one of the most interesting reads I've had in a long while. But I couldn't help notice the way esquire was written, it looked fairly old for it's sort of elegance so I decided to research the company's history.

October 1933

What amazed me is that the first issue's cover which is publicly available in the archives section was dated for October 1933. I had bought the issue that marked the 74th year of it's magazine to the exact month. Being directly catered to men, the overall feeling of a male dominance in the cover and within the magazine honestly hasn't changed all that much since the 30's. I loved reading this magazine and because of the content it provides, seeing as how the magazine has over 70 years of experience of what to write, the title of the magazine hasn't really changed, but refined throughout time for the sake of modernism. A brand of men's magazine as strong as Esquire are few and far between because of the paid pace of popular material in any area of entertainment.

Mac's Froster

I'm sure a fair number of you have encountered a Froster ad. Froster is a slushie style drink sold exclusively through Mac's Convenience Store locations, and always inspires extremely aggressive and (arguably) offensive advertising campaigns. The campaigns are released during the summer months, and target teenagers. There is a seperate website specifically marketing the product to kids, complete with net abbreviations and a playful, "buddy buddy" tone addressing the viewer.
Which brings me to this year's campaign, entitled WTF? The ad is pretty antisemetic...although I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to be saying. Apparently it's just as controversial as the "Bloody Zit" of a few years past, or the "Whack" from last year which unabashadly referenced masturbation. I really don't know what they think they're doing with these campaigns, but apparently they're going for a "so hip it's distasteful" type thing. I am by NO means a prude, but I seriously think these ads are trying way too hard to be young, and are coming off as dirty. Like, dirty old man style dirty. It's like a parent crashing a kid's sleep over....creepy.

An interesting little article on the public reaction to the campaign. http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/may/07050906.html
It's pretty bad when your employees are embarassed by your marketing...wouldn't you guys agree?

Co-operative Company?

I was strolling down the street and saw a store named 'Mountain Equipment Co-op'. What intrigued me is the word 'co-op' in their name. Mountain Equipment Co-op is a Canadian consumers' cooperative, which sells outdoor gear and clothing and has over 2.5 million members (customers). From my research I found out a co-operative is a democratically owned business structure in which members pool their resources to obtain a benefit, which means the products can be only purchased by the members (which is $5 annually) and members use their shared purchasing power to obtain goods and services for outdoor activities. And the members are actually eligible to vote for board of directors to decide how the Co-op is governed.

I found out many interesting things about the company. Moutain Equipment Co-op is a largest co-operative retail in Canada, and they actually make profit. The company is notable for its commitment to environmental protection and other causes. It is very different type of company which I encounter normally. It has healthy philosophy

Jaguar to aim to Younger Market

I own a car, my parents helped me purchase it a few months ago. My car is brand new 2007 model KIA, I like my car it serves its purpose.

As I was reading the weekly online newsletters, I stumbled over the article discussing Jaguar XF new Car that is aimed to younger consumer market. I viewed the website and the new product. I watched all the mini commercials and exterior/interior videos on the site. The article stated the reason why they are aiming at younger customers is due to lose of money and market share. This years sales alone have been down by 27.9 %, sales of 60,000 in 2002 are now only 20,000 last year. I suppose their main targets are consumers in early 40 +, entrepreneurs, businessmen, lawyers, and anything high-income range 125,000 + (estimate). The commercial portrays the car, fast, sporty and adds flashing and metallic dance music that reflects to the lifestyle of young jet setters.

The car is sleek, stylish and looks very similar to new BMW's, the exterior is out of its world, and there is not much needed in add on's that isn’t already included. The car has it all, it really does. The new model Jaguar XF starts at $ 65,000 +.

Check out the commercial.

zoom-zoom

I've been driving a 2005 mazda3 for two years now, not too long ago on the road I noticed a car with a badge that I haven’t recognized before. And I’m quite familiar with all automobile brands. It turns out after some digging that this badge on the car was actually Mazda’s older logo. Although this may be old news since their logo has changed way long ago, it was an interesting experience to compare the differences between the two and how it evolved. Personally I think Mazda's brand DNA is successful. They divided it into two concepts of “Personality” and “Product” in order to gain pathos from their target customers.

Cocaine = Energy ... Right?

A product of Redux Beverages, the energy drink, Cocaine, didn't last long.

The drink was quickly shut down by the FDA for marketing itself as a street drug alternative. "Street drug alternatives are not intended to supplement the diet. 21 U.S.C. 321(ff). Accordingly, street drug alternatives do not qualify as dietary supplements."

The energy drink listed drug suggestions such as, "Speed in a Can,” “Liquid Cocaine,” and “Cocaine - Instant Rush,” on its website, advertisements as well as the cans themselves.

I'm not sure that the idea of naming an energy drink "cocaine" is really a bad thing. It's pretty much like instant branding; "cocaine" (the word itself) already suggests so much, and most of those suggestive qualities are pretty closely linked to energy drinks. If you walked into a grocery store, looking for an energy drink (let's say you're about to face an all-nighter) and you saw a drink called "Cocaine," odds are you'd think, daamn that stuff is probably PACKED with caffeine, I should try it!

In the end, I really don't think its that big of a deal to title the drink as such. Controversial names attract attention and often make people laugh, too bad the FDA doesn't care about clever branding.

SIDENOTE: What's with the link between red & white and tasty beverages that have something to do with cocaine? (COUGH Coke-A-Cola COUGH)

Cadbury, Gorilla, Phil Collins... I just don't see the connection.

You may want to watch this first because if not, you probably won't have a clue about what I'm talking about.
(Turn the volume UP!)



Ohhhhhhhhhh Cadbury.
*sigh*

You used to be the magical brand holding the secretive Caramilk chocolate bar. Persuading the audience, making us wonder, "How DO they get the caramel in the center?"
Pardon me if I think this 'secret' was an on target strategy, strengthening and differentiating the chocolately treat.
But gorillas...
Confuse me?
I ... um... yea... I'm lost.
Are you trying to be Skittles with their random image?
I don't understand how this new take is on track with the cadbury brand image of holding the magical secret.
Why abandon the strong image for something that still makes us wonder, but not in the good way?
I can understand the monkey thing on some basic level because for some reason people love primates but COME ON.
This does nothing to add to the Cadbury intrigue. How does it relate?
Maybe YOU have the answer or at least some kind of insight.

I on the other hand smell a cop-out & a client with a burning hole in their pocket.

It's not an Irish beer...

Given that this past long weekend was Thanksgiving, I found it appropriate to discuss a branding argument I was involved in. A good friend of mine had his family flown in from Ireland and was privileged to share their company. Like any good Irishmen, they drank the second they landed in Toronto. Monday night, three of us got into an argument about beer. I am not a connoisseur about alcohol by any means, but I had a great case. Carlsberg is a beer domesticated from Denmark. It originated from there and is, by no means, Irish. These two gentlemen were persistent that it was an Irish beer. When I asked them, why, they said that the clover on the logo is what gives it all away. It actual fact, it’s not a clover at all. The world famous architect Thorvald Bindesboell designed the logo in 1904. If anyone knows what that little shape is, please let me know. Regardless, I found it interesting that these two men were sure it was Irish because of the mistaken identity of that little three-pointed shape.

Share your iPhone story

Click here to see the other ads.

I was just checking Apple’s website and I found that they have added 3 new ads to their iPhone section. Apple's first iPhone TV ads were simple, friendly, and informing. They featured close ups of fingers touching and manipulating the iPhone screen, in front of a black background. Now Apple has a new, more personal set of ads that feature users against black backdrops, telling anecdotal stories of how the iPhone changed their lives. This ad may have been a follow-up from Apple's “Share your iPhone story” campaign paid, where it encouraged new iPhone owners to call or send an email to share their experiences with the new phone.

When I first saw the new ads I noticed a startling feature – there are hardly any iPhones in the commercial at all! At first I thought it was a little weird, but after I thought about it for a while I realized that by now, everyone already knows what the iPhone does and what it looks like (or they should anyways). Why would they need to see it again? Instead Apple focuses on the user experience of the product. I think the Apple made a good effort to connect with its audience but still maintained a similar feel with its previous commercials. These new ads also do a good job of adding a face and a personality when describing the real advantages of owning an iPhone.

...Upset stomach, Diarrhea!

Pepto-bismol has certainly claimed its brand as the pink liquid. But does it's slogan pack the same punch? "Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!" Music and dance is always fun, but is this campaign for the pink liquid very creative? I mean in the most recent commercial they seem to take advantage of the reason why reality shows such as American Idol are so successful. How do people sign the forms and foolishly broadcast themselves as untalented. Pepto-bismol also seems to borrow themes from their macarena-style dance and the old Nyquil slogan that made it so successful as well.

Nobody saw this coming...

OCAD, the brand we all know and love. Of course I'm being sarcastic here, as in a school full of know-it-all designers (faculty and students alike) it's next to impossible to please everybody. Not to mention the idea of an art university trying to sell itself to the outside world as a legitimate education entity. It seems obvious from the quick renaming discussion that OCAD's brand as it stands is not working, or at the least misrepresenting what our school is all about.

First off, the College thing. This was brought up in class, so just to briefly reiterate we ceased being a college around the exact time that our identity was drafted. In Canada, colleges are inferior to universities, which OCAD is. The impact this has on it's students and faculty is widespread, we've all uttered the phrase "It's a university, the name just says college".

Not to mention the simple font cutouts that comprise the banners down McCaul st. While 'designerly' they read 'Imagination... is ever... ything' or worse 'f art and design'. Simply put, our identity as it stands solidifies us as a silly art school where people do silly things, as opposed to a serious institution.

Let's not even get into the ridiculous Sharp Centre and how that causes people to perceive us.