Call it coincidence: just as the BBH top brass is in India, I came across this article from AdAge about BBH diversifying into ‘brand invention’. Simply put, they have set up a company called Zag, whose mission is to ‘create’ its own brands and bring them to market with joint-venture partners. Cool, innit? The attempt is to identify consumer needs that aren’t fulfilled to potential. Example: there are people who like meat but don’t want…
As far as public service messages go, this one has an unusual objective. It urges motorists in the UK to look out for cyclists. The rationale: while driving, we normally look out for other cars & vehicles, not cyclists. I guess in nations where motorists don’t have to jostle with jaywalkers, auto-rickshaws, motorbikes and the occasional cow, such a message would be relevant. To match this unusual brief, WCRS has created this intriguing spot, for Transport…
Feel lousy about not being able to blog regularly. I have been traveling on some personal work to places which haven’t seen a mobile phone, forget the internet (Karkala, anyone?). And no access to decent broadband is a huge dampener. This is likely to continue for another week and then ‘I will be back’. Apart from staying off the Internet, I haven’t watched much TV either. The longest I must’ve watched must be for 5…
The general perception (and rightly so) is that an Apple laptop or dektop costs more than a Windows-based PC. Some feel it is unjustified and Microsoft even made a hoo-hah about it, calling the extra you pay, ‘Apple Tax’. Here is Joy of Tech’s hilarious take on where the extra money goes. I loved the ‘Just works’ fee and ‘Steve Jobs wardrobe fee’. Awesome!
When the promoters of DNA approached me at home sometime this September, I was told that the launch is in October. I even paid the annual subscription upfront. When I did not see any announcer activity in media, I was curious. When I got a call from them asking for details of y current subscriptions I was told that the launch is in November. Now I see an outdoor campaign stating that the launch is…
The blogosphere is abuzz with chatter about the new Pepsi logo. Almost all the Social Media experts are talking about Pepsi’s new initiative to reach out to the online community. It includes creating a room at Friendfeed, and a photo-stream on Flickr. They also sent out 3 packages to 25 digital and social media influencers, in sequence – each package containing cans representing different logo designs. According to Adrants, the first contained five cans representing…
Along with the efforts on re-branding Pepsi, another brand from the Pepsi stable has gone through a change of identity. Brand New reports that Tropicana has gone through the blender too. The current pack is here: The new packaging has done away with the mnemonic of ‘fruit with a straw’. I thought the old packaging was unique and ‘ownable’ by Tropicana. The new one looks nice but seems quite generic. The differentiation between the variants…
A staff writer of The Unofficial Apple Weblog chronicles his dad’s experience of switching to a Mac. The set up: the writer’s dad is a programmer who has been using Windows since the days of Windows/286 (which is what, 1988?). Recipe for disaster? Imagine moving to a new operating platform from Windows being a techie. Read all about Day Zero here and Day Seven here.
A website – Pincha la Rueda de Hamilton, or Burst Hamilton’s Tyre- has been in the news over racist abuse of F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. The Guardian reports that the site is owned by the Spanish branch of TBWA, part of Omnicom. The website, invites visitors to place a virtual nail on the track at Interlagos, the setting for Sunday’s title showdown with Felipe Massa in the Brazil Grand Prix. The site carries a message…
These set of ads reminded me of the good ol’ days when print advertising was king in India. The likes of Trikaya Grey, Ambience, Enterprise and Rediffusion had a solid reputation for print ads – especially those for upscale brands & services. Not all of the ads in this series for New York New York – a hotel & casino in Las Vegas have the same zing though. Via Ads of the World