iPhone: Resisting its Siren Song

iPhone’s marketing pitch is beguiling. With just the flick of my finger tip on its polished screen I can do so much. I can get directions to a restaurant. I can stay in touch with friends. I can even make a video. I want one but I resist.

Greenpeace Hijacks Dove’s Brand Message in Parody Video

"Dove on Slaughter"- Greenpeace Video

Social Media puts great power in the hands of individuals who know how to use it. Here’s a case where Greenpeace dealt a powerful blow to Unilever in response to its environmental impact.

Old Navy: Fun Brand, Cheap Clothes

As we walked through the front doors of Old Navy yesterday my daughters, ages 11 and 12, were excited, bordering on giddy. The purpose of our visit was to return three pairs of jeans that my son had purchased last week for $19 each. After one wearing, one pair had a four inch tear and another had a two inch tear. My son, age 15, was bored and skeptical, but that may have had nothing to do with Old Navy. I was annoyed by the remarkably poor quality of the jeans and bracing for an argument with the cashier.

Why Skaters Buy Vegan

Organika and Friends

“Organika’s cool. The skaters are vegan.” said my 15 year-old son as we shopped for t-shirts at Zumiez. He promptly grabbed a tourquoise Organika shirt with a toucan on the front and put it in his shopping bag.

 Shopping for clothes with this hardcore street skater (as opposed to a “vert” skater) is an excercise in discernment- which stores and brands are sell outs and which aren’t. Zumiez is a sell out because it’s a chain and it’s at the mall. Nike is a sell out brand becasue “their skaters are in it for the money.” Emerica’s cool becasue the guys that skate for the Emerica team are not sell-outs. And of course Organika’s not a sell out becasue the guys are vegan. As a student of branding, this is fascinating to me.

I like simple products

Trek Lime

I like simple products like the Swiss Army Knife, Google and the  Trek Lime. Let’s look at the Trek Lime.

The Trek Lime is a bike. It has handlebars, a frame, pedals and wheels. That’s about it. There are no hand brakes. There are no gears to shift. Riding it is a luxury. Climbing on is like being greeted by a concierge who says, “We’ve taken care of everything for you, Mr. Walker. Just get on and enjoy the view.” And the simplicy is elegant to look at because you don’t see any mechanics. If Google were a bike, Google would be a Trek Lime.

If you like your brand so much, get a tattoo

Putting an Apple sticker on my car made me feel cool.  Such is the power of a strong brand- its positive energy energizes me by association.

Let’s take that idea one step further and think about brands that are so powerful that people tattoo them onto their bodies. Yes, there are brands like that! Harley Davidson is one and US Marine Corps  is another.

Now I’m Cool Like Apple, Right?

Yesterday I put an Apple sticker on my car. Instantly my old VW became cooler and so did I.

That sticker says, “I’m an Apple guy.” I’m the guy on the right, not the guy on the left (ironic positioning) in the Apple commercials. I’m the younger guy with cooler, more casual clothes. I’m more laid back. I’m creative. I know how to create cool stuff. I’m into new music. Wow, all it took was adding that sticker to my car! I didn’t even have to start listening to Feist and biking to work with a Timbuk2 messenger bag holding a MacBook Air. Putting that sticker on my car made me feel good. Am I really that shallow? Or is the brand really that strong? (or both) How can that little icon evoke so much positive energy?

Let’s start with Apple, the machine. I have an Apple computer at home and I love it. Why? It is a beautiful object. It’s clean white look beautifies the desk where it sits the way a sculpture would. It is easy to use. All I had to do was turn it on and start using it. What I see on it’s screen when I’m using it is beautiful- the screen savers, the icons, the thing that it does when I squeeze the sides on my mouse (the screen is magically transformed by “widgets”). Then there’s the iPod. Like an Apple computer, an iPod is a stunningly beautiful object. It’s simplicity adds to its appeal and it delivers pleasure in the form of music. And of course, there’s the iPhone which may be the apogee of Apple design brilliance. I don’t even have one but just watching the ads makes my hand itch to hold one and touch its black screen.

The emotional appeal of these products is so powerful that it mitigates some of the functional shortcomings. The truth is that I can do more, faster on a PC. I know I don’t need much of what the iPhone offers (when I have I ever really needed an instant map to a new restaurant- my kids can tell me exactly where Friendly’s is). And the simplicty of the iPod has eliminated many of the features that I used to find so appealing on my stereo (optimizing bass, treble, etc). Nonetheless I love these Apple objects and want to use them. I even want to put the emblem that embodies them on my car and when I do I feel like the appeal of them rubs off on me.

Apple sticker on my car