Six of the Best: Brand stories (wk. 42) ~ Brand Mix

Friday, October 17, 2008

Six of the Best: Brand stories (wk. 42)

Still crazy week on the financial front but it's all kind of vieux chapeau at this point so let's ignore all that and keep our focus on matters of great branding importance. Here's my summary of the best and most interesting posts from the week:

1) Here's something that some branding bloggers have been getting in a right tizzy about. Name change nonsense, writes David Taylor in the UK about what he thought was a name-change from Pizza Hut to Pasta Hut, with the same shape logo. "Is it some sort of post-modern spoof?" he asks in his post and the answer to that question is actually "yes." Pizza Hut pulled the same stunt on April 1 in some U.S. cities to draw attention to the pastas on its menu.

2) Thanks to Wikipedia, the full selection of the original 10 Rorschach inkblots can now be seen. Jamie Davies explains in Projective Tests: What do you see? that these 10 inkblots were once jealously guarded so that test subjects wouldn't have time to think of better choices than "Satan" or whatever.

3) Contemptible or a ray of sunshine? Denise Lee Yohn in: 'i feel your pain’ or ‘put on a happy face’? writes about the controversy surrounding the latest Target ad which takes an upbeat look at how people can save money. Do advertisers have to share our misery as the economy downturns? Denise says: "no."


4) Do you look surprised? indexed
These cards from Jessica Hagy are usually good but, sometimes, who knows why exactly, they make me laugh too. This one tripped that switch:

5) Brands Love Bond: Egg Strategy
It's true. What other movie franchise or TV show has come close to giving so much positive energy to so many brands? None. The new movie : Quantum of Solace is coming out soon and it will be chock-a-block full of Aston Martins, Omega watches, Bollinger. Even Coke Zero is trying to sneak in, apparently.

6) Financial Planner Advises Shorter Life Span: The Onion
Trust The Onion to come up with a solution to the financial crisis and the cost of healthcare all at once. Soylent Green anyone?

See you next week for more stories from the world of brand strategy stories.

1 comment:

Jeffry Pilcher said...

That's so strange. I was just looking for Rorschach inkblots earlier this week and ran across the same Wikipedia page you did. I couldn't help but think some of them look downright scary, especially the first one that looks like a wolf (pointy ears, fangs).

 
Blog Directory - Blogged