Opinion BY Armin

McCain, Lesson Learned

If there is anyone that learned the branding lesson imparted by the Obama ’08 Campaign, it was John McCain. During the Presidential race there was simply nothing the McCain identity could do to help his chances, especially not Optima, not even at its boldest. Not long after the loss, McCain announced in November of 2008 that he would be running for re-election to his Senate seat in 2010 for the state of Arizona. Earlier this year, McCain presented a new identity for this particular campaign, created by Phoenix-based OVO. What a difference one lost Presidential race makes.

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DATE: Mar.11.2010CATEGORY: Politics 28 COMMENTS

Opinion BY Armin

Ubuntu’s Circle of Friends Gets Smaller

According to our Google Analytics, 58% of your are using a Macintosh Operating System, 39% are on Windows, 1.5% are logged as using the iPhone OS, and, finally, as the subject of today’s post, 0.65% of you are reading this from a Linux Operating System. (Wow, 0.01% use Playstation 3!). The Linux platform, in contrast to that of Apple’s and Microsoft’s, is free and open source and has major street cred among hardcore developers and people that simply want a tinkerable alternative to the Mac vs. PC battle. Also, unlike its commercial brethren, various operating systems can operate in a Linux environment, and one of the most popular is Ubuntu — launched in 2004 by Canonical Ltd. and embraced by a growing community of users that contribute to its growth and evolution. Under a new brand vision of “Light” Ubuntu is preparing to change its identity this coming April.

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DATE: Mar.10.2010CATEGORY: Technology 42 COMMENTS

In Brief BY Armin

Oscarama for Logorama

In dozens of years of watching the Oscars I had never cared about the outcome of the Best Animated Short Film, but this year it was different as in the running was a 16-minute film done almost entirely out of, literally, thousands of logos. Created by the French collective H5, and winner of the 2009 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, Logorama is not only a clever idea that brings to life some of the most ubiquitous marks of our time, but one that manages to exploit the meaning and conceptions we have of those marks and the brands behind them — whether it’s the villain of the movie, Ronald McDonald, spouting “Loser” after the Enron logo drops from the sky, or “White Trash” when the Kmart logo follows it. Logorama is relentless in its inclusion of corporate, consumer and cultural icons and they become ever so vivid through a crude animation style that complements rather well the prickly language and chaotic plot, which is “Spectacular car chases, an intense hostage crisis, wild animals rampaging through the city and even more…”. Images and a trailer for the short film have been floating around the web for the last few months and the full video has been spotted on and off. The official, legal video can be seen in some countries through iTunes for $1.99, and until further announcement it’s also available at Vimeo (embedded below). [Boy, I haven’t even posted this and the video is already gone; below are some screen captures and instead of buying a cup of coffee today, spend it on this movie, it’s worth it]. There are plenty of memorable moments, so don’t even dare to blink.

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DATE: Mar.09.2010CATEGORY: In Brief 32 COMMENTS

GUEST REVIEW BY Kosal Sen POSTED BY Brand New

This Just in: History is Coming Back… Sort of

Before it closed down for renovations in 2009, to reopen in 2011, the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia suffered from lack of exposure. A quick look at the original website reveals all you need to know about the old brand. The brutish colors and default appearance reveal a small organization without much concern for engaging the audience. Compared to the other kid-friendly museums in Philadelphia like the Franklin Institute (whose original home was actually the Atwater Kent building), the Atwater Kent Museum is about as exciting as a textbook. Having visited the museum once in my elementary school class trips, I remember it as an old, austere space that contained just bunch of artifacts. Change was overdue.

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DATE: Mar.08.2010CATEGORY: Culture 59 COMMENTS

INTL. REVIEW BY Paul Vickers POSTED BY Brand New

En Garde, Bad Logos

Les Mousquetaires (The Musketeers), is a leading French super and hypermarket chain founded in 1969, employing 130,000 people across Europe in over 4,000 stores, with a turnover of €35 million (US$47 million) in 2008. The name is, of course, a direct reference to Alexandre Dumas’ 19th century novel about the adventures and escapades of a group of sword fighting, good living, soldier friends in the reign of Louis 13th of France. The Musketeers are synonymous of friendship, adventures and the good life in France and are part of popular culture, an association this supermarket has happily adopted.

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DATE: Mar.05.2010CATEGORY: Retailers 60 COMMENTS

INTL. REVIEW BY CHRIS THORPE POSTED BY Brand New

Melbourne, One Heart Too Many?

Melbourne Heart FC is a soccer team that will begin competing in the A-League during the upcoming 2010/11 season, and, until recently, lacked a concrete name and identity. Soccer has a strange place within Australian sporting culture. In spite of the relative success of our national team at the last World Cup, and the increase in popularity with the introduction of the A-League in 2004, the world game has always been the bridesmaid to the brides of the other (more successful) Australian football codes. Melbourne, in particular, is a hard place for new team to succeed — with 9 out of 16 AFL teams, and highly successfully rugby and soccer teams — any new sports franchise that enters into such a saturated market has to hit the ground running.

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DATE: Mar.04.2010CATEGORY: Sports 48 COMMENTS

INTL. REVIEW BY ANDREW SABATIER POSTED BY Brand New

Facing Another Smile

Argos is the largest general merchandise and home retailer in the UK with a network of 750 stores throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Known mostly for a catalogue-based selling system, Argos is a multi-channel retailer that lays claim to a 30-year heritage and defined by a unique retail experience. Argos is a high volume, fast-paced and highly effective commercial goods delivery mechanism, servicing more than 130 million customers per year and boasting an annual turnover over £4 billion (US$6 billion). A lightweight brand, Argos is most certainly not.

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DATE: Mar.03.2010CATEGORY: Retailers 48 COMMENTS

INTL. REVIEW BY FREDRIK JÖNSSON POSTED BY Brand New

A Merger that Doesn’t Add Up

Caixa Sabadell has handled all my banking for the past five years or so. Although I’ve been quite satisfied with their service overall, I have become increasingly irritated by the lack of cashpoints available. So, when informed that the bank was merging with three other Catalan banks, I was hoping this would result in an improved service and especially more free-of-charge ATMs. However, earlier this year, my local office was suddenly closed down and now it seems resources have instead been spent on rolling out a new umbrella brand for the four banks involved in the new merger. Even if the merger would result in more cashpoints, having seen the first examples of the new brand image, I’m not too sure I would like to be seen using one.

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DATE: Mar.02.2010CATEGORY: Finance 32 COMMENTS

Opinion BY Armin

Caribou Coffee Leaps into the Future

When it comes to coffee retail chains, it’s easy to think of Starbucks as the number one, but who exactly is number two? Until this morning, as I sipped my Starbucks coffee, I would have never guessed it was Caribou Coffee, with nearly 500 locations in 16 U.S. states (compared to the 11,000-plus of Starbucks). Originally established in Minneapolis in 1992, Caribou’s main presence is in the Midwest and some lower East Coast states. I have, literally, gone into a Caribou only once in Atlanta and it was a fairly convincing experience as the brand relies heavily in a kind of ski lodge environment and look that makes you feel cozy and warm. The coffee wasn’t bad either. Over the weekend, Caribou announced a new identity crated by Minneapolis-based Colle+McVoy.

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DATE: Mar.01.2010CATEGORY: Retailers 120 COMMENTS

In Brief BY Armin

Ready for The Brand Quiz, Hotshot?

If you have some time to kill between now and Monday (or any day after that actually) perhaps you would like to test your brand awareness by taking The Brand Quiz, a fairly difficult challenge that asks you to name a brand based on two color hints and two ambiguous hints. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit I only scored 14/21, but I had a root canal and wisdom tooth pulled out on Tuesday, so I’m pretty sure something, somewhere got dislodged in the process. If you think you can do 21/21 there is still the challenge of doing it in less time than your opponents. The quiz has been put together by London-based VYRE.

DATE: Feb.26.2010CATEGORY: In Brief 66 COMMENTS