Brand Mix

Facebook was ablaze with color and confusion this week. Those in the know were all black, beige and lavender. Those who weren't were wondering what it was with all the colors in the status updates.

1) OMG! TMI! 'What color's your bra?' becomes global Facebook fad for a day: NY Daily News
Turns out the point of the color status updates was to raise awareness of breast cancer and confuse men. Winner: Meme of the Week. Confusion: As many women not in the know as men. Impact on breast cancer awareness: Uncertain.

2) Lethal jellyfish stings World's Best Job guy: AdFreak (from @BrownhillJ)
Last year, the Australian tourist board scored a huge viral success when it advertised the Best Job in the World to look after and blog about a desert island off the Queensland coast. Ben Southall, the British charity worker who beat out 35,000 other people to win this job, may not have read the small print which might have mentioned the host of dangerous sea creatures living around the island. These include the Irukandji, tiny but extremely nasty jellyfish, one of which stung him. Luckily for the tourist board, he survived.

3) Weatherproof Blows a Presidential Naming And Branding Opportunity: Strategic Name Development

Apparel company, Weatherproof, has appropriated President Obama's image for a massive billboard in Times Square. He apparently wore the jacket on a trip to China. The White House "disapproves" and William Lozito says it: "Smacks of sleaziness and makes the company look tawdry." Fair?

4) Dove Takes Its New Men's Line to the Super Bowl: AdvertisingAge
The perfect case to pit the battling camps of brand extenders vs. brand focusers. Dove spent time, effort and money to position itself to women with its Campaign for Real Beauty. Now it's going back to the Superbowl with an ad launching a line of cleansing products for men. Good for the brand or destroying its positioning?

5) Avatar' = 'Pocahontas' In Space: Huffington Post
First, let me say that I saw Avatar in 3D on an IMAX theater and I thought it was incredible. That said, I think this book report style edit of Pocahontas into Avatar is pretty funny.

Disney's Pocahontas: In 1607, a ship carrying John Smith arrives in the lush "new world" of North America. The settlers are mining for gold; under supervision of Governor Ratcliffe. John Smith begins exploring the new territory and encounters Pocahontas....

James Cameron's Avatar: In 2154, a ship carrying Jake Sully arrives in the lush "new world" of Pandora. The settlers are mining for unobtanium; under supervision of Colonel Quarty. Jake Sully begins exploring the new territory and encounters Neytiri....

6) Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review (Part 1 of 7): RedLetterMedia (from @sbicy)



While, I am in movie-mode, here's the first of a seven-part epic critique of George Lucas' Star Wars prequels. Starts off: "Star Wars: the Phantom Menace was the most disappointing thing since my son... the unfortunate reality of the Stars wars prequels is that they will be around ..forever. They will never go away. They can never be undone." The narrator's voice alone makes at least some of this worth listening to.

That's it! Off to India at the end of next week so there will be no "Six of the Best." But, maybe I'll have some pix from Mumbai instead. Meanwhile, more thoughts and comments also available on Twitter (@martinjbishop).