I was talking with a friend who grew up in China and moved here permanently six years ago, and she mentioned that she wanted pancakes for breakfast.  I suggested that she go to IHOP.  She knew the brand name and where two stores were near her home, but had never been there because she did [...]

This is one of my favorite topics, or should I say favorite rants. Will  your grandchild know what an OREO is, or was?  How about a Reese’s?  Our experience is that a brand has one single pivot foot and that it can move one step from the pivot foot only, much like a power forward [...]

For many years, I have meant to visit Columbus, Indiana.  You know that’s the town that is differentiated based on the architecture of its companies and buildings. I went yesterday. If it is possible to overdo branding for a city, Columbus may have done it.  The reason for the differentiation is real.  The logo is [...]

I find the techniques used for some internet advertising to be despicable.  For instance, Verizon’s IQ game.  This starts out as an unbranded challenge by an individual chosen to seem like a friend, a challenge for you to take an IQ test, and compare  your score to theirs.   You go through ten different screens [...]

Last night I drove past 32 outdoor billboards in Atlanta and of these, 28 had too many words to be read completely in the time that it takes one car to drive by.  What happened to the old principle of “six words or less” that I was taught in college advertising?   What were you taught? [...]

I learned this morning that new products guru Margot Chapman jumped off the Golden Gate bridge ending her brilliant career.  I will miss her.  We were friends for almost 35 years. Margot first made waves back in the late 60′s inventing Warm Fuzzies, the very first sheepskin bedroom slipper with the wool inside.  Yes, all [...]

What do you think about Waffle House vs. Huddle House?  Which is your best choice for a sit-down quick meal? I personally think that Waffle House is best on service.  I can never remember a bad Waffle House waitress although I once had a bad waiter at a Waffle House in Springfield, Missouri.  But never [...]

There is a commercial for a new paint or stain by Behr which in my opinion is guilty of burying the lead.  I don’t remember the name, whether it is a paint or a stain, but I remember one line of the commercial that was accompanied by an almost impactful visual demo, had it been [...]

Once in a while I see an item in a store that could be a big idea if advertised, at least in my opinion.  Sometimes it is the concept.  Sometimes it is the industrial design as with the photos below.   First of all, this is the most functional dust pan I have ever used, [...]

Awhile back, I wrote about James Bond Island in Pha Nang Bay in Phuket. Today, let’s look at a different destination that was re-branded closer to home. In the late 1970′s The Herschend family purchased a small, Smoky Mountain theme park called Gold Rush Junction. It had a steam train ride, a few general store [...]