Branding
Earlier this year, Heinz asked people to ‘draw ketchup’, by giving them pieces of paper and a tin of coloured pencils. Most people, they claim, drew Heinz bottles. I’m surprised that nobody drew bloody red puddles, but to be fair, had I been told to draw ketchup, I’d likely have drawn a Heinz bottle too. […]
Photo: AFP As I write this article, the Cleveland Indians, an American professional baseball team, has become the second major American team to drop a racist nickname. This follows the Washington Football Team, which was previously known as the Redskins. Cleveland had already phased out logos and imagery of its cartoon mascot, Chief Wahoo, after […]
You’ve probably seen the news by now if you’re anywhere near part of the industry: due to various reasons including the Australian Federal Government’s decision to ban Huawei from 5G networks and forming a new defence pact with Japan, China has hit Aussie wines with tariffs, ranging from 107-200%. The wine industry is only the […]
It’s been a scary few months, but Australians stepped up to the challenge. Whether it’s been working from home, keeping kids at home, or doing necessary delivery, healthcare, and other work, things in Australia so far look under control so far, enough that elective surgeries are opening up and restrictions are beginning to relax. Projections […]
Like us, you may be one of the many Australians who have decided to do their bit and stay home during these difficult times. You might be doing this because you have to — as one of the people who flew in from overseas and are self-isolating for two weeks, or because you’re working from […]
When I visited the Duomo in Milan last year, it was packed. Tourists squeezed by the occasional local, taking pictures, piling into cafes, trying to get into the church. If you wanted to eat nearby, you had to dodge bomber pigeons and hordes of people hungry for overpriced pizza or Prada. Granted, it was near […]
Every time I see a comment by someone lamenting that everyone nowadays is on their phone, I confess I get annoyed. Yes, I’m a millennial, and I like my phone. It’s the first thing I check in the morning and often the last thing I check at night. Through the phone, I can access my […]
I hate crying during films, even if I can’t help it. I don’t like how you have to hide your sniffles and try to surreptitiously palm tissue out of your bag, or how I pretty much felt emotionally drained after films like Moana and Coco. Ads are worse, since I usually watch them in the […]
When James Monsees and Adam Bowen were studying product design in Stanford University, they became friends during the smoke breaks. Their struggle to quit smoking led them to try and create a product that might help. In 2007, they founded Ploom Inc, which became Pax Labs, and began development on a line of cannabis and […]
In this fast-changing, crowded day and age, brand experimentation is essential. It’s not just about changing parts of a brand’s messaging, look & feel, or advertising — it’s also about trying out new or different platforms. The process can be a little hit and miss — I laughed when I saw that L’Oreal created Snapchat […]