Louder Beats From Microsoft’s Drum

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Microsoft is pretty sure its new Windows Phone is faster than your Android or iPhone. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Microsoft conducted the “Smoked by Windows Phone” challenge. CES attendees were offered $100 if their smartphone beat the Windows Phone. According to the Seattle Times, the final tally for Windows Phone at the [...]

Apparently, Pigs Can Fly. And Talk With Some ‘Tude.

Courtesy of Atlanta’s Fitzgerald + Company, a new campaign for Bottom Dollar Food shuns the traditional fresh produce close-ups and bakery shots for a flying piggy bank with ‘tude.

Should American Brands Wrap Themselves In The Flag?

This new GE spot touts American manufacturing, but treads lightly so as not to feel too jingoistic. Obviously, GE is a global company. So what’s an American company to do these days about its heritage? How far will “Made in America” take a brand? In the past few weeks, we’ve seen Apple take a few [...]

The Probelem With Conceived In California, But Made In China

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President Obama wants “Made In America” to mean something again. And it’s no wonder, when “Made In China” comes with as many human rights questions as it does. As you may have heard, over 300 employees at a Foxconn plant in Wuhan, China recently threatened to throw themselves off a building in a mass suicide. [...]

Google Goes For The Heartstrings As Well As The Eyeballs

Google is one company that definitely doesn’t rest. Nor are they immune from good ol’ fashioned advertising efforts. The New York Times has more: Lorraine Twohill, Google’s vice president for global marketing, would not disclose how much the company had increased its advertising spending, but said there had been a shift in strategy. “As we [...]

The Ad Industry Is Quite Cold To Brands That Aren’t Cool

In the course of my career, I’ve done a lot of good work for brands that simply weren’t cool. And if you’re an observer of our industry and the people who comment on it, you know that brands that are seemingly out of favor have a tougher time gaining traction — even when there’s good [...]

Brand Against The Machine Shows You How To Get Control Again

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I’m not quite sure what it means when you call yourself “The Chuck Norris of Branding,” as John Morgan does. But if you’re looking for a dose of marketing knowledge laced with a bit of aggression, you’ll find it in his book, Brand Against the Machine: How to Build Your Brand, Cut Through the Marketing [...]

A Different Take On “Think Different” From Someone Who Was There

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Writing on Forbes.com, Rob Siltanen, who worked at TBWA/Chiat/Day in the 90′s and was instrumental in bringing the Apple “Think Different” campaign to life, tells how the campaign came about. Jobs was quiet during the pitch, but he seemed intrigued throughout, and now it was time for him to talk. He looked around the room [...]

It’s Important for Brands to Listen To Customers And Their Own Conscience

TLC’s new show “All-American Muslim” is a nightmare for Lowe’s, and an example to other brands of what not to do. The California-based home repair retailer was advertising during the reality-based program, until some racist wing nuts in Florida started making noise, which frightened Lowe’s into withdrawing its ads from the show. While it is [...]