Future of Brands

The discipline of branding is the love child of graphic design, advertising, marketing, PR, and corporate identity. A branding consultancy competes with all of these businesses for both respect and clients— and often finds it must cooperate with all of those fields to...

Ads, Part 1

For most of the twentieth century, advertising was branding. It is still a critical tool for shaping how brands are perceived. James B.Twitchell, in Twenty Ads that Shook the World, describes the Absolut vodka campaign that began in the 1980s, and the effect those ads...

Ads, Part 2

Broadcast Once upon a time, advertising on TV was the best way to guarantee big success for your brand. It was expensive, but you could reach millions of potential customers in 30 seconds, with a powerfully persuasive message. The aura of the tube was such that any...

Ads, Part 3

Web Web advertising, which started out with simple banners, is now run by highly sophisticated software that conjures a miniature, full-featured website within the banner itself. Web advertising not only plays video and animation, interacts with viewers, provides...

Advocacy

When brands take a stand, who benefits? Why do some companies support charities loudly, while others are more discreet? The cynical observer will quickly bring down any effort by a big-brand corporation to support a worthy cause, whether it’s fighting disease,...