Blog

Not looking forward to the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade or should I say, the 3 hour NBC commercial, brought to us by NBC's exclusive coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics!!!!.  Do we really need Roker and cast of Heros at parade curbside freezing their unmentionables off in an act of shameless promo?  How does seeing the stars of NBC shows, bad lip-syncing celebs and lame parade banter enhance my Thanksgiving Holiday!  Don't get me wrong, all about brilliant brand marketing. Thing is, nothing brilliant about the Hello Kitty float sponsored by Pepto-Bismol!

Veteran's Day 2009 - First off, allow me to express my undying appreciation, respect and admiration for all veterans. HEROS ALL! Without you, there would be no FREE in FREEdom! Personally, I would like to thank my father in-law Jamie E. [NAVY], my friend Nick M. [AIR FORCE] and my Dad [ARMY].

VETERANS DAY SALE? I've NEVER been a fan of the Veterans Day Sale campaign. Honestly! Do retailers really believe a Veterans Day Sale with 50% Off Select Futons or Sweaters actually honors our Veterans and their families? How about offering Veterans and families deep discounts and not just on Nov. 11th. Without that kind of commitment, the Veterans Day Sale campaign is nothing more than a shallow gimmick.

Radio Shack announced that they will be changing their name to "The Shack" with the hope of reviving their stodgy brand image. The Shack? I sense a HUGE celebrity endorsement in the offing! Instead of The Shack, how about The SHAQ!!! Kidding!!!!!

Celeb Endorsement Branding Pitfalls.

Case Study: Kay Jewelers Mother's Day 09. Kay dusted off their Jane Seymour jugger"NOT" ad campaign and took another run at the "Open Hearts" product line. Seriously, Open Hearts? When I think Open Hearts, my mind conjures up thoughts of ... Open Hearts-SURGERY, Cardio Resuscitation, Hospital Bills and oh yea, lavish jewelry from Kay! Is that the Brand association Kay wants?

So I'm sitting at home pre-Superbowl Sunday, camped out on the couch with my boys, looking for some kid-friendly television programming.  As I click through the DirectTV guide, I happen upon the one zillion or more Nickelodeon/Disney channels.  Low and behold, the kids and I spy "The Incredibles" movie listed in the guide, the kids shriek with delight and before you can say MacBook Air, we're engrossed.  We pause the movie for a scant moment, (gotta love Tivo), grab some snacks, and get settled in for a long, winter's evening. 

I'm a huge fan of the movie "The Incredibles", we own the DVD, and I can honestly say we've seen the movie no less than 50, maybe 100 times.  Round about 45 minutes into the movie, I'm struck with an image I've never seen before until now.  Amazingly, Pixar, in conjunction with Apple of course, present us with the MacBook Air in all its glory.  Yes, the MacBook Air, 4 years before the product was launched to the masses.  Amazing coincidence or brand business as usual from the fine folks at Apple.  Talk about your Visionary Brand Strategy!!!    

Don't kid yourself!  An undeniable image strangely reminiscent of the MacBook Air laptop does appear in the movie.  If you would like to see for yourself, grab the DVD and fast-forward to the following scene: Mirage sneaks into the cubicle of Mr. Incredible immediately after Mr. Incredible (Bob), is called to the office of his boss.  Mr. Incredible is fired, goes home, dumps the contents of his briefcase in the trash, hears a large clunk in the can, reaches into the trash can, pulling out a YELLOW BUSINESS ENVELOPE, reaches into the YELLOW BUSINESS ENVELOPE and . . . wait for it . . . pulls out the MacBook Air!!  Amazing right?  Apple and Pixar had the foresight to strategically integrate the pending launch of the MacBook Air in a movie from 2004!  Was Apple and/or Pixar crazy or crazy like a fox?  We know that during the recent MacWorld 2008 Keynote, Steve Jobs launches the new MacBook Air, presenting the new product literally from "thin-air", like a rabbit from a hat or in this case, a laptop from a similar YELLOW INTER-OFFICE ENVELOPE!  Mr. Jobs then treats those of us watching the Keynote to a preview of the new MacBook Air television spot where we once again see the MacBook Air, seemingly pulled from "thin-air" from the all too familiar YELLOW INTER-OFFICE ENVELOPE.  

Call it what you will . . . visionary strategic brand brilliance, product placement premonition, or just a lucky coincidence?  I call it INCREDIBLE.