One of the things I like about driving across country are the regional brands one encounters along the way. This morning I woke in Asheville, NC--after driving in from Chicago--and made my way to Port City Java for my iced quad espresso. It was great. A few hours later, I pulled over in Columbia, SC for one country steak biscuit and one country ham biscuit at Bojangles. If you enjoy salty, buttery dishes, Bojangles …
Total Brand Supremacy Only Acceptable Answer In Cinci
Stuart Elliot writing in NY Times: Madison Avenue is responding to the planned acquisition of Gillette by Procter & Gamble with a mix of anxiety and eagerness. There is anxiety because the deal will turn Procter, the world's largest advertiser, into the biggest marketer of consumer products, with total sales at $60 billion a year, overtaking its longtime rival, Unilever. Procter's growing clout is being regarded …
Continue Reading about Total Brand Supremacy Only Acceptable Answer In Cinci →
Bud Conducts Taste Test At The Times
Chicago Sun Times advertising columnist, Lewis Lazare, got a little hot under the collar this week when Anheuser-Busch used Stuart Elliot of the New York Times to screen, approve and promote their upcoming Super Bowl ads. "Upending what had long been a strict rule of not allowing anyone in the media to see complete versions of its Super Bowl ads before they air, A-B chief marketing pooh-bah Bob Lachky presented more …
Continue Reading about Bud Conducts Taste Test At The Times →
Split Open And Melt
from NY Times: Sun Microsystems said Tuesday that its Solaris 10 operating system would soon be available on an open-source basis, a move the company hopes will help counter the perception that its technology is too proprietary and pricier than the competition. The decision means the software will be free and that programmers outside Sun will be able to customize and improve it. The company, based in Santa Clara, …
I Can’t Tatse My Beer
Miller Brewing with the help of Y+R Chicago has launched what may be the best ad campaign currently on air. Even Lewis Lazare likes it. Taking a page from the pharmaceutical advertising handbook--which consistently spawns some of the worst advertising on TV--Y+R makes fun of both Bud and Viagra-style ads all at the same time. And they do it while providing a clear and memorable product benefit for Miller. …
Money Men Apologize For Predecessors Crimes Against Humanity
from Chicago Tribune: J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. on Thursday filed a disclosure statement with the City of Chicago acknowledging that two of its predecessor banks had received thousands of slaves as collateral before the Civil War. The New York-based bank apologized for contributing to "a brutal and unjust institution" and said it was setting up a special scholarship fund to try to make amends. J.P. Morgan officials …
Continue Reading about Money Men Apologize For Predecessors Crimes Against Humanity →
Easy Rider Still Playing In Boomers Heads
from USA Today: Motorcycle sales last year jumped to their highest level since 1979, the Motorcycle Industy Council says. Pushed by an increase in female riders and the broadening appeal of motor scooters and other small, less-expensive two-wheelers, sales rose 4.7% to top 1 million for the second-consecutive year, according to MIC. The average age of motorcyclists rose to 41 in 2003, the latest available data, from …
Continue Reading about Easy Rider Still Playing In Boomers Heads →
Hotmail Gets New Outlook
from Associated Press: Microsoft Corp. will begin selling its Outlook e-mail program as a subscription to Hotmail customers, in a bid to persuade people to pay for add-on services and better compete with rivals such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. The new service, which costs $59.95 per year, will let people organize e-mail, contact lists and calendars in their online Hotmail accounts using the Microsoft Outlook …
CEO Says KFC Is Like Silk
China's relentless appetite for the colonel's chicken has KFC on a building boom in the world's most populous country, with 1,200 locations, soaring profits and a menu that mixes in bamboo shoots and lotus roots. At a time when its sales in the United States are struggling, KFC is dominating even rival McDonald's in China and turning the goateed visage of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Harland Sanders into a …
McDonald’s Is Lovin’ It Large
McDonald's Corp. said Tuesday that sales at U.S. restaurants open at least 13 months, or same-store sales, rose 6.9 percent in December and 9.6 percent for all of 2004, its best annual performance in 30 years. Same-store sales are considered the best indicator of a retailer's health. The December figure marked the 21st straight monthly increase. Worldwide sales rose 4.9 percent in December--their 20th straight …