Ad Age highlighted the phenomenal packaging of Fat Pig Chocolate today, and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look at this product. The brand name and packaging imagery goes against everything one would expect from a chocolate product. Rather than making a chocolate indulgence sound like something fun or special, Fat Pig Chocolate cuts to the chase.

The text on the back of the package reads, “Get your snout in this. Shove every single square in your face right now. And do it quick. Or some other fat pig might ask you for a pice. Oink, oink!”

For nearly 20 years, International Falls, Minnesota has been fighting with Fraser, Colorado on and off and in one way or another over the trademark rights to be called the “Icebox of the Nation.” The battle ended this week when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office declared International Falls, Minnesota victorious.

In terms of temperatures, it seems obvious that International Falls, Minnesota is the clear winner anyway (my in-laws live not far from International Falls in Northern Minnesota, and it’s unbearably cold there), but it seems there was more at stake than a simple tagline. Apparently, a brand image was at …read more

I’ve been thinking about taglines today after hearing a story about a new small company who changed their tagline three times in the same year then wondered if that might hurt their brand.
That got me to thinking about the importance of taglines.  Of course, taglines are a great way to draw attention to one of the most important attributes of a brand’s image or mission, but can taglines pigeon-hole a company or brand, particularly a new company or brand that is just starting out and trying to find its place in the market?