Possibly the Greatest Brand Story Ever Told

Posted by Jon Thomas, 13 Mar 2013

The most effective mass media is the stories we tell and conversations we have with each other. If you don’t believe me, let me prove it to you.

We've all seen an endless number of ads for cars, car dealerships, and the like. If I think really hard, I may be able to remember a few of them. Let’s see… I remember the Volkswagen ad with Kid Vader (but mostly because it was so talked-about, not because I thought it was so effective). I remember the Toyota Celica ads in which the senior citizen sees a parked Celica and yells, “Slow down. This is a neighborhood!” If you gave me 10 more minutes, I could probably think of another three to five, but not much more. Considering how many car ads I’ve seen in my lifetime, that’s a pretty low recall rate, and I can assure you that none of them influenced my purchase decisions.  

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Getting Hairy For Charity: The Waxed Promise of Movember

Posted by Luke Dringoli, 23 Nov 2011

Movember. Manliest of all months, this philanthropic sensation has made its mark by having men around the world pledge, for one month, to grow the ultimate icebreaker and conversation starter: a sweet ‘stache. Since its inception in 2003, $178 million in worldwide donations, for the purposes of men’s health, can be attributed to this most glorious strip of hair. In less than ten years, how did it get to this?

How did one charity turn perhaps the definitive symbol of machismo into a highly effective charity badge? What part have brands played in the process, and what can those still watching from the sidelines learn from well-aligned brands? Cause marketing has entered the 21st century, and you better believe it’s sporting a ‘stache.

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Mad Men Season 4 Episode 5

Rival Agencies, Psychotic Ex-wives and Repetitive Placements (Or, Mad Men: Season 4, Episode 5)

Posted by Luke Dringoli, 23 Aug 2010
It's that time of the week — a new episode of your favorite primetime drama about the most despicable industry of all: advertising! This week's entry in the Mad Men canon featured a plethora of both family and ad-related dramatics, and continued the insertion of an increasingly high-profile array of real-life brands opting (we'd assume) into the show's historically hyper-accurate format. Read on for our behind-the-copy take on the hour's events — especially the breaks that littered it.
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The Honda Brand Connection

Posted by Luke Dringoli, 30 Oct 2009
Honda has dazzled the social media world over the past several months with its Facebook experiment, Everybody Knows Somebody Who Loves a Honda, which tests the idea that everyone is connected through relationships with brands. In this case, that brand is Honda, of course.
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Brand Generosity

Posted by Jim Boulton, 23 Dec 2008
I’ve got this theory that brands can engender irrational consumer loyalty through generosity, which was recently reinforced by a trip in a London cab. Black cabs are not usually known for their largesse, however, this time it was different. Thanks to O2, I was able to make free calls to any UK number from a branded radio phone in the back – it just so happened I needed to phone my mum, so I did.
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