SOTB: Heroes and villains edition?

Who are the heroes, who are the villains in this topsy turvy world?

1) Wal-Mart’s Eco-Labels: the New Face of Capitalism, or Just Lipstick on a Pig? Big Think
One of the big stories of the week and a significant moment in the history of the sustainability movement came with Wal-Mart's announcement of its latest eco-initiative. It's launching a new program to determine the social and environmental impact of every item it puts on its shelves and let consumers know via a new labeling system. As this post from Andrew Seidler quotes it's: “one small move for Wal-Mart and one giant leap for Planet Earth” (and one almighty pain in the neck for its suppliers). Anyone who has been following Wal-Mart's green initiatives over the last few years will know that this is far from "lipstick on a pig." It's the real thing but it's still leaving some activists with a queezy feeling. Wasn't Wal-Mart supposed to the bad guy? Many other posts on this subject: (1, 2, 3, 4)

2) Robert Lutz and marketing malpractice: Grant McCracken
Grant launches an attack on Bob Lutz, newly unretired marketing head for newly non-bankrupt GM, for saying, among other things, that: "It's uncool to drive an import." As Grant points out what the consumer thinks is what matters and rather than call them "lemmings," Mr Lutz might be better served to figure out how to use good marketing, manufacture and design to start changing perceptions.

3) Once-Trendy Crocs Could Be on Their Last Legs: Washington Post
I wrote about fast-fading Crocs a few months ago but now it seems that the end may be in sight. Quoted in this Post article, investment fund manager, Damon Vickers says: "The company's toast. They're zombie-ish. They're dead and they don't know it." More specifically the company has until September to pay off a mountain of debt. Some people will be sad, perhaps more will be delighted.

4) China bans electric shock therapy for internet addicts: Daily Telegraph
In perhaps another eco-initiative, China has decided to outlaw electric shock therapy for internet addicted kids. No parents had actually complained even though some kids had suffered "painful burns."

5) We choose to go to the moon: JFK (via TED)


It's the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon "one small step for man..." This is President John F. Kennedy’s speech about the necessity of space exploration, given at Rice University in 1962 that set the vision and ambition that allowed that mission to take place seven years later. This week also saw the death of Walter Cronkite who led the CBS coverage of the mission and the lunar landing.

6) Chipotle's Hot Spot: The Vulnerability of Authenticity: Andrea Learned
In what must win the title of unexpected distribution deal of the week, the Chipotle restaurant chain just announced that it will sponsor free screenings of the newly released documentary film, Food Inc. For those who don't know, Food Inc. has a big beef with the food industry but Chipotle founder Steve Ellis believes that the more his consumers know about the facts, the more they will appreciate his company's efforts. Brave but maybe a little bit crazy too.

That's it! See you here on the blog or on Twitter (@martinjbishop) for more stories from the world of brand strategy.

Introducing the Willis Tower (fka Sears Tower)

Photo: egvvnd (Flickr CC)

Much to the irritation of Chicagoans, The Sears Tower, the nation's tallest building and best-known city landmark, officially becomes the Willis Tower today.

Joseph Plumeri, chairman of Willis Group Holdings and the guy who negotiated the name change even though he occupies less than 5% of the office space in the building, is unapologetic and says that Chicago should be celebrating his company's visibility and local commitment.

A Willis spokesperson acknowledged that: “Old habits die hard" but feels that "ultimately people will come to embrace the Willis name.” We'll see. I'm not sure that the best way to strike up a relationship with a community is by trying to change the name of one of its best known, best loved symbols.

Prius solar panels: A cool idea not quite baked

Photo: Toyota.com PR

I can imagine excited conversations over the last few months in the halls of the Toyota organization about how much they should or should not say about the solar panels available on the 2010 Prius. Such great potential for headline generation and such a fantastic proof point for the car on the one hand, so far from being fully realized on the other.

If indeed such conversations took place, voices of moderation have won out. As you can see in the official press release, talk about the new moonroof solar panels is relegated to low key inclusion on a list of features. (Even with this soft-pedaling, several stories about the new Prius (like this one) focused on this angle showing its potential news value.)

The problem for Toyota is that it hasn't fully solved the technical challenges that would make this more than a symbolic effort. According to this post, the original intention was to use the panels to charge the battery of the vehicle but this idea was scrapped for now because R&D has not been able to work out how to protect the battery from repeated charging. Instead, the solar panels are only being used to keep the car at ambient temperature while it's not occupied. It's something, but it's not enough of a thing to make a big deal about.

So, kudos to Toyota for resisting the temptation to hype this feature. No doubt the R&D team will figure out the technical challenges and then there'll be another opportunity to make hay when the sun shines.

SOTB: Yogurt and Baloney edition

Michael and Farrah are gone. So are Oscar and Daniel. But, before we get to them, let's start with United Airlines:

1) United Breaks Guitars – “My God, They’re Throwing Guitars Out There": brandeo

Having had my own recent misadventure with United (Flight 123 from Chicago to LA: Rudeness/ arbitrary rule-setting. Thanks Joe!), I was more than ready to appreciate this video. Dave Carroll watched his guitar get smashed by baggage handlers from the window of the plane and tried unsuccessfully to get compensation before resorting to this novel approach. So now we know how to get United's attention--just record a song that gets YouTube traction (1.5 million views and almost 10,000 comments). (Mr Carroll politely told them to give the money they offered to charity.) What was I thinking just registering my own complaint with a single tweet and filling in the standard online form? Clearly not response-worthy.

2) Evian’s hip-hop roller babies: Responsible or not? The Responsible Marketing Blog

Undeniably cute video but responsible? Not if you agree with the Sierra Club and others waging war against bottled water. I've written about bottled water a few times on this blog but the industry's troubles continue. Just this last week, a town in Australia voted to ban bottled water sales and Congress was questioning its safety.

3) maybe you could do this with some free time and an olympus camera: Brandflakesforbreakfast

60,000 pictures, 9,600 prints. No post production! Olympus camera promotion inspired by Takeuchi Taijin.

4) Oscar Mayer dead! Huffington Post
Oscar Mayer died at age 95. Over in France, Daniel Carasso also died. He was 103 and the creator of Danone yogurt. The longevity of both gentlemen a good endorsement of their very different products.

5) Strongbow cider tells bankers to “sod off”: JWT Anxiety Index

Everyone loves to beat up on bankers so here's Strongbow telling them to "sod off." A populist sentiment but, as one comment points out: "“Hahahaha, right? Sod off, bankers! Yeah! Let’s buy some cider, because clearly this is a company that understands the working class. Oh, except: Scottish and Newcastle, brewers of Strongbow, was just recently purchased by Heineken, a public company, in a transaction supported by Credit Suisse, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Fortis, HSBC, ING, and JPMorgan Chase. So actually, the joke’s on the working class after all."

6) When it rains, it bleeds: brandflakesforbreakfast

Yikes! This new billboard in NZ definitely gets the message across. When it rains, the billboard gushes blood to remind people of the dangers of driving too fast in the conditions. Wouldn't work in the UK unless there was someone refilling the storage containers every few hours.

That's it! See you here on the blog or on Twitter (@martinjbishop) for more stories from the world of brand strategy.

Summer reading: Watching the English

If you 1) Are English and wonder why you act the way you do or 2) Have spent time with English people and wonder why they act the way they do, this book provides some answers. I'm English and my wife's American so, now that I've read the book, I'm going to give it to her so that she can see that whatever irritating English things that I still do, even though I've lived in America for 20 years, are NOT MY FAULT.

Just three things that this book reveals:

1) The weather: English people do not talk about the weather all the time because they are interested in the weather. They talk about the weather because it's a convenient form of ritual greeting used as an ice breaker to overcome our social disabilities. Important note to the non-English: Whatever an English person says about the weather, however wrong it might be, etiquette requires you to agree. (Five years in LA "cured" me of this particular ritual because, in LA, there's no weather to talk about.)

2) Humor: The English person's basic antidote to our social "dis-ease" is humor which we use all the time, even in times and places that other cultures would find inappropriate. Humor is, as author Kate Fox says, "our default mode," a "reflex, a knee-jerk response" used to combat awkwardness or from taking ourselves too seriously. (I'm still deeply afflicted with this condition. Even my daughter (6) knows this and asks after most of the things I say: "Are you kidding?" And usually I am.)

3) Eeyorishness: Defined as: "More than just incessant moaning... it is utterly ineffectual: we never complain to or confront the source of our discontent, but only whinge endlessly to each other, and proposing practical solutions is forbidden by the moaning rules." A condition exemplified by the national catchphrase "Typical" or "Better make the most of it." (I'm partially cured after prolonged exposure to the very different American attitude.)

Overall, a highly recommended book although at 400+ pages of small type, it takes some time to get through.

Other reviews of this book:
1) The anthropology of contemporary culture: Grant McCracken
2) The English and the magical properties of tea: Mind Hacks

100 calorie meltdown

Photo: me

Are the days for 100 calorie packs numbered? Brandweek reports that sales of most 100-calorie packs are down. Oreo Thin Crisps, for example, are off 31% vs last year. The "mini munchie" craze started back in 2004 with Kraft launch of Oreo Thin crisps as well as Wheat Thin Minis and Nabisco Mixed Berry Fruit Snacks and, seeing the success, General Mills, Frito-Lay and others all jumped in with their own products.

The article points to several possible reasons why: The recession in general as well as issues with taste and wasteful packaging. "The Supermarket Guru" Phil Lempert is quoted as saying that newly frugal consumers have figured out how to measure out 100-calories by themselves. And/or maybe it's that portion control is now out of favor and everyone's on to the next thing to help us stick to a reasonable diet.

I think that all these factors have played a part but I'd like to throw in one more: The product architecture. A couple of weeks ago, I was having a discussion with myself (and others) about Frito Lay's Baked! line of chips. I could see the logic in promoting Baked! to lead status on the packaging but I wasn't sure that leading with a generic name and relegating the "real" brands like Cheetos to secondary status was the right way to go. Even more so with the 100-calorie packs. Another generic name, this time being used by lots of different manufacturers as a descriptor for a category of products.

You can see from the photo the consequences of leading with "100-calorie" vs. Oreo, Ritz etc--there's a strong billboard effect but the packaging design looks generic. Contrast the 100-calorie packs from Nabisco with Pepperidge Farm's alternative approach with Goldfish (also in the photo) which places the 100 calorie message as a secondary message more in the tradition of fat free or lite. Less billboard but more branding. (For an in-between approach, see here for the way that Pepperidge Farm has added 100 calorie to its line of cookies.)

I wonder what would have happened if the 100 calorie message had been softer-pedalled? Perhaps less initial success but a longer-term future?

Simple abuse and the shallow kiss

Photo: jeffk Flickr CC

There's a big difference between simplicity and simplistic. Simplicity is good, it's important and according to da Vinci it's: "The ultimate sophistication." Simplistic is bad, shallow and lazy.

When someone throws out a K.I.S.S. (as in: Keep it Simple, Stupid) do they mean that you've got to work harder to make something less complicated, more uncluttered and more useful for others or do they mean that you can get away without much effort or attention to detail, making it easier for them? It's important that you don't fall into the trap of using the pursuit of simple be an excuse for dumbing things down.

Garr Reynolds explores the question of simplicity in this post which includes a link to a speech he gave on the topic at a recent Synergy Conference. One quote, buried deep in the speech, from Dr. Koichi Kawana sums up the good type of simplicity:

"Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means."