What’s in a name? We’ve talked with a few experts in the field of marketing, branding, etc. and here’s the general consensus: 1. Analtech is a brand name known and trusted by the academic and science communities worldwide 2. Under normal circumstances, such a branding after nearly 50 years would be considered a [...]
Archive for March, 2011
Analtech wants public input on whether they should rename the company
Posted: March 29, 2011 in Brand Issues, Brand Loyalty, Brand Names, Brands, humor, Marketing, Marketing blunders, Marketing Mistakes, Silly surveysTags: Analtech, Brand Names, Brands, Marketing blunder, Marketing blunders
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A moment of silence for one of the greats … Dianna Wynne Jones
Posted: March 28, 2011 in A moment of silence for one of the greatsTags: Beatrix Potter, Chresomanci, Dianna Wynne Jones, Fantasy, Miyazaki, Obituary, Writer
Likely as not you never read one of Dianna Wynne Jones wonderful, archly funny and slightly dark fantasy novels which generally poked fun at the conventions of fantasy. (And one, Deep Secret, which also poked fun at SciFi & Fantasy conventions.) If you have read her then likely as not you spent too much time [...]
Did someone say, “Bikinis with push-up tops for 8-year-olds?”
Posted: March 28, 2011 in advertising, child safety, Marketing, Marketing blunders, Marketing Mistakes, Marketing to girls, Marketing to kids, Sexual exploitationTags: A&F, advertising, advertising mistakes, Ambercrombie & Fitch, American Apparel, humor, Irony, Marketing, Marketing blunders, marketing mistake, Marketing mistakes, Sexual Exploitation
Abercrombie & Fitch is selling the ‘Ashley push-up triangle’ top which features thick padding in the cup to give the illusion of a larger chest size. What’s news about that? It’s for girls 8 to 14. Yes, for a mere $24.50 you too can pimp out your not-yet-tween girl and remind her that its all [...]
Is this the worst ad placement ever?
Posted: March 25, 2011 in advertising, Death, Death as marketing opportunity, Irony, Marketing, Marketing blunders, Marketing Mistakes, Marketing to women, Penguins of ironyTags: advertising, advertising mistakes, humor, Irony, Marketing, Marketing blunders, marketing mistake, Marketing mistakes, Penguins of irony
Probably not, but it’s still impressive. It’s a winner!
Odyssey Dawn is just the latest in the great tradition of military operations with silly names
Posted: March 25, 2011 in Bill Mauldin, Brand Names, Brands, Cartoons, Marketing, Marketing Mistakes, military, Names, World War IITags: Bill Mauldin, Brand Names, Brands, cartoonist, Cartoons, Military, Odyssey Dawn, Willy and Joe, World War II
“You have operational names like Desert Storm or Iraqi Freedom that convey a message. Others, like Operation African Lion, are symbolic of the location. Odyssey Dawn is neither of those.” – Eric Elliott, spokesman for U.S. Africa Command, or Africom, explaining how they came up with the name “Operation Odyssey Dawn” for the U.S. [...]
iPhone apps are the bleeding edge of marketing mistakes
Posted: March 24, 2011 in alcoholism, Apple, Apple Computer, Censorship, Homophobia, iPad, iPhone, iPhone apps, iPod, iPology, Marketing, Marketing blunders, Marketing Mistakes, MarketingApple, Steve JobsTags: Apple, Apps, Homophobia, iPad, iPhone, iPhone Apps, iPod, Marketing, Marketing blunder, marketing mistake, Steve Jobs
The iPhone’s apps have been a marketing problem for Apple pretty much since they debuted. The problem is really that Apple wants to approve of all apps before they go on the store. This would be fine, if there was a consistent or even coherent policy guiding what goes in and what doesn’t. This week’s [...]
Dove ad makes a big before-and-after mistake
Posted: March 22, 2011 in advertising, Marketing, Marketing blunders, Marketing Mistakes, Marketing to girls, Marketing to women, Race, WomenTags: advertising, Advertising mistake, Dove, Marketing, Marketing blunder, marketing mistake, Marketing to women, O Magazine, Oprah, soap
Image via Sociological Images Now clearly all the women in this ad from Oprah’s magazine are supposed to be showing off the wonderful “after” effect of using Dove soap. It’s just that the women (who are shaped like actual women – bravo, as usual, to Dove) are arranged by their skin’s melatonin content and [...]
A pictorial guide to why I’m over “Breast Cancer Awareness” marketing
Posted: March 18, 2011 in Breast cancer, Cancer, Cause Marketing, Death as marketing opportunity, Marketing, Marketing to girls, Marketing to women, NFL, Pink, Pink bats, Pink Ribbons, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer FoundationTags: Breast Cancer, Cancer, Cause marketing, Marketing, Marketing to girls, Marketing to women, NFL, Susan G. Komen
A pink oil delivery truck? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? I was driving around Boston the other day and I saw one. Then I Googled it to get a picture and found out it was one of TWO local oil companies doing this. Then my friend Karen sent me a link to the pink recycling can. [...]
Japanese PSA explaining Nuke disaster for kids is a whole new level of weird
Posted: March 17, 2011 in Disaster, Japan, Marketing, Marketing to kids, Nuclear Power, PSA, Tsunami, Weird MarketingTags: Chernobyl, Disaster, Japan, Marketing to children, Meltdown, Nuclear Meltdown, Nuclear Power, Weird
Video featuring cute characters trying to avert nuclear disaster. The explanation of Chernobyl Boy is especially notable. Because nothing in Japan is allowed to happen without its own cute icon.
I hope you don’t see an ad more offensive than this today
Posted: March 16, 2011 in Australia, Marketing, Marketing blunders, Marketing Mistakes, Offensive, real estate, Security, Sexual exploitationTags: Australia, Marketing, Marketing blunder, Marketing blunders, marketing mistake, Marketing mistakes, Misogyny, real estate, Sexism, Sexual Exploitation
The always-brilliant website Sociological Images found this appalling ad for an Australian “luxury” real estate development. My first response after “This has got to be a hoax,” was how unsafe these places are when you have a resident scared out of her wits tied to a chair and calling the cops. This doesn’t make me [...]
Thinking of Totoro as the situation worsens
Posted: March 15, 2011 in Disaster, Japan, Miyazake, Miyazaki, Nuclear Power, Studio Ghibli, Totoro, Totoro Forest ProjectTags: Earthquake, Japan, My Neighbor Totoro, Nuclear Power, Studio Ghibli, Totoro, Tsunami
“May you live in interesting times.” – Ancient Chinese curse. How to help – a list of organizations
CNN proves BBC America is a great news source
Posted: March 11, 2011 in Bad ideas, BBC, BBCAmerica, CNN, Japan, journalism, Journalism?, Marketing blundersTags: Bad ideas, BBC, BBC America, CNN, Earthquake, Japan, Journalism?, Marketing blunders, News, Tsunami
The 6:30 AM news update on CNN started with Japan followed by the latest on Charlie Sheen. Click here for BBC World News America. Image courtesy of the Great Gregory Marlowe
First Galliano, now Japanese boy band causes a Führer
Posted: March 2, 2011 in Marketing, Zombies, Japan, Zombie, Marketing blunders, Jewish, Anti-Semitism, Anti-Fascist, Fashion Police, zombie-ish, Marketing Mistakes, The Big Lebowski, Dior, zomTags: Marketing, Marketing blunders, Zombies, Marketing blunder, Dior, Galliano, Kishidian, Japanese, Sobchak, The Big Lebowski, Flock of Seagulls, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Gegege no Kitaro
You would think by now everyone would have figure out the rule that No Nazis is Good Nazis. While this is universally true it seems the business world in particular has a problem remembering it. Although former Dior designer John Galliano’s besotted ode to Herr Schicklgruber has captured the most headlines, he isn’t the only [...]
