When brands fall out

Two brands have ended their relationship. Previously it had been beneficial to both parties, but the brand-identity of one party has become inimicable to the other.


Brand 1: Coca-Cola

Brand 2: Wayne Rooney

The full story here: Wayne Rooney's Coke deal finally loses its fizz



Branding and the sexualisation of children

A strong brand - one that is appealing to consumers - can be an important asset for an organisation, whether it is a charity, or a commercial organisation.

Here is a brand spokesman describing the brand of the company she works for:

“A brand that is urban, trendy, stylish and sophisticated,” [1]

How fantastic. What is the brand exactly? Playboy.

And there we see the instantly recognisable logo of a company with a rich heritage dating back fifty years or more. Ahem.

Branding can be a contentious issue though. Here is an example. Should a brand with a sexual component be permitted to appear on products intended or often used by children? For example, should an obviously sex related brand like Playboy appear on something like a pencil case?

If you could change the law, would you prohibit this? The current UK government is thinking about it seriously. A minister has recently said:

“Parents often find themselves under a tidal wave of pressure, buffeted by immense pester power from their children for the latest product, craze or trend. I want this review to look at how we can equip parents to deal with the changing nature of marketing, advertising and other pressures that are aimed at their children.” [2]

The boss of a ‘family’ charity – The Mothers Union – Reg Bailey [3] has been tasked with reviewing the situation and reporting some recommendations. He has asked for the British public to send him examples of “products of concern”. As a devout Christian, I suspect he may find the contents of packages he receives to be eye-opening....

[1] From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7415538.stm

[2] From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11923107

[3] Reg may not actually be a mother himself, I’m just playing the percentages here.

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