Wandering around a supermarket when it’s not busy – like at 8am on a Saturday morning – makes one of life’s necessary evils ever so slightly more pleasurable. Not much more, admittedly – I’d rather be asleep, for one thing – but ever so slightly. One thing it does afford me is the time to look critically at the packaging which has been agonised over for months; each brand trying to outshine and out “want me!” their competitors. You can’t do that with someone’s bored five-year-old swinging from a trolley next to you and interfering with your brand-savvy critical eye.
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Posts Tagged ‘branding’
Is that a pair of boobs on my macchiato? How Starbucks came up with the rudest logo on the highstreet.
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
The Starbucks logo; something most of us absentmindedly encounter on a daily basis but have you ever stopped to peer at the mermaid logo which is emblazed across your morning latte? It’s caused a fair amount of controversy since the brand launched in the 1970’s owing to its somewhat racy connotations…
What makes a bad logo bad (and a good logo good)?
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
Unlike Naomi Klein, I like logos. In fact, I think everyone should have one. Not just every company – every single person. We could do away with those boring, old fashioned signatures and photos and just stick our personalised logo on things like driving licences and passports.
Going underground
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
400 miles of track (only 150 of which are actually underground), 180 million passengers a year and one 300 foot moving walkway – in engineering terms alone, the London Underground system is a staggering achievement.
Demanding branding
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
As BP’s stricken rig barfed over 2000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico for the best part of a month, some wag suggested pouring gallons of vinegar into the ocean to create the world’s largest salad dressing. But that’s probably the extent of the levity to be drawn from the situation – because alongside the black stuff, the UK oil giant has been pumping its reputation away at a similar rate. And as any marketing professional will tell you, brand is reputation, reputation is brand.
Dull 2.0
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
Big technology companies are selling us obsolete kit. Sorry, but that pad, phone, camera, laptop, Bluetooth, wireless web widget you just splurged half your salary on? More redundant than a manufacturing industry recruitment consultant. And that MP7 player that folds away into the top of a cigarette packet and beams 24 hour music videos onto your neighbour’s garden wall? It’s just so much landfill fodder, friend.