…and you thought you only needed protection during the relationship. [Read more]

No love this Valentine’s Day? At least you can get some materialistic love from YSL… The luxury label will be releasing its fourth manifesto; a series of photo shoots and videos to express the spirit of the brand. Early birds to stores in Paris, London, Milan, Tokyo, Hong Kong and New York might be one of 2,000 to snag a free limited edition tote and USB full of multimedia from the new manifesto. It’s an interesting move for a luxury brand… The manifesto concept is a great way of expressing the brand’s identity and what it wants to stand for. Giving the images away to diehard fans will probably ensure that they are spread online directly to their targets. Viktor & Rolf achieved something similar with their ’secret’... [Read more]

“It was good at first. We saw a little bit of each other, and then more and more. You were exactly what I was looking for, and you fitted in so seamlessly with my daily life. But then you changed. I tried to talk to you about it, but you never listened. There’s no communication between us, what kind of relationship does that leave us with? I’m sorry – it’s over.” That’s what your customers might say to you…if you’re not listening to them. And according to a recent report by the Chief Marketing Officer Council that’s what as many as two thirds of companies are doing. In a survey of 480 CMOs, most acknowledged that the customer experience is a key part of brand-building, but only 38%... [Read more]

It’s no longer the ‘Coke side of life’. Goodbye to spectacular, joyful ads like this: But wait. This sounds a little familiar: It’s the ‘new’ song called ‘Open Happiness’, a collaboration by artists from Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco and Gnarls Barkley, amongst others. The song is a big part of the new Coke tagline and campaigns – which ironically feature much less of the song, opting for some retro and anime influences: Well, it sounds the same and the creatives are the same (Wieden + Kennedy, one of my favourites), so what’s the big change? According to Coke reps, the ‘Coke side of life’ message wasn’t translating across cultures, leaving less mature advertising... [Read more]

The latest green branding to catch Brandcurve’s eye is not a product or a service…it’s an awards show. The One Show gives out awards for the best advertising across a variety of industries and media. (And yes, the controversial ‘Whopper Sacrifice’ campaign by Crispin Porter is an entrant.) However, this year there’s a new award…the Green Pencil. It’s apparently meant to do something like this… How? Well, to be honest it’s a bit vague. The award is meant to go to the best environmental advertising – not sure whether this is the best ads for an environmental cause or the most environmentally-friendly campaign. In other ‘green’ efforts, One Show has stated that paper... [Read more]