El Significado de la Marca
Ahora disponible en Kindle de Amazon
Spanish edition of “Brand Meaning” just released
The Spanish language edition of “Brand Meaning” is now available, published by Granica as El Significado da la Marca.
Here’s a link to buy the book.
So God made a YouTube video
As a footnote to my post below on last night’s Super Bowl ads, this story could not be more appropriate. The only ad that I deemed worthy of some positive comment turns out to be a rip-off of a home-made video uploaded to YouTube by Farms.com While my post pointed to the “borrowed interest” in the Dodge Ram commercial, I didn’t realize at that stage quite how borrowed it was.
The full story and video are here.
Again, a perfect depiction of the lack of originality on show last night.
Not so Super Bowl
And so, last night, to the yearly ritual of watching the Super Bowl ads,
punctuated by brief episodes of the game itself. This is billed as the showcase of national advertising. The winner last night?
The Baltimore Ravens.
Yep, I enjoyed the game more than the ads. Now, I ought to clarify that this is the first year that I’ve actually understood the rules (at least some of them), which sure makes a difference. And the ebb and flow of the play, with a tight finish, kept me interested. As for the ads,…time out. The amount of contrived, derivative advertising with no brand idea, no advertising idea, in fact, no idea, was alarming – given the average cost of a Super Bowl spot.
“Imported from Detroit”
I do love Chrysler’s “Imported from Detroit” campaign, which famously kicked off in the 2011 Super Bowl. Here’s one of the latest spots, for the Chrysler 300. It’s worth remembering that the remains of Chrysler were acquired by FIAT after the government bailout in 2009. FIAT management under Marchionne turned the brand’s fortunes around and the Chrysler recovery has been surprisingly robust.
The launch ad (featuring Eminem) was infused with a spirit of gritty resilience and character, set in a city which had been, “to hell and back.” But it was also about a city – and a brand – which has standards and knows what luxury is about. So, although the recessionary backdrop and cultural context may be somewhat less relevant today, the luxury with character message still resonates, and has been given meaning by clever product innovation. The “Imported from Detroit” campaign has achieved an often elusive goal: it has touted features and benefits while giving the brand its soul back.
Life after Jobs
The untimely passing of Steve Jobs gives rise to a tantalizing question: how will this affect the Apple brand? Though comparisons with Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers and Henry Ford may be somewhat exaggerated, there is no doubt that Jobs was a visionary genius whose products did change the world we live in. From the Mac to the iPod to the iPad those products had a cultural impact the likes of which is the reserve of a very select number of brands. Jobs – Apple – changed the way we listen to music. His unique take on form and functionality changed what “computer” and “phone” meant.
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