Tired of associating toilet paper with quilting ladies and layers? Or the warm-and-fuzzies of bears and puppies?
Well, Cottonelle has seen to that by bringing the popular vote to a very familiar idiosyncrasy. Cottonelle’s The Great Debate asks: do you roll over or under? More...
Tags: verbal identity, verbal identity news, cottonelle, nielsen, oscars, design, creative, brand voice, diesel, be stupid |
Categories: Design, General, Verbal Identity, Verbal Identity News
When it comes to brands, romance is not just for Valentine’s Day. Here’s a few brands we love, simply because they bring the love, every day.
MAGAZINE: WHAT YOU LOVE MOST
It’s a love thing. At least that’s what the UK’s The Love Magazine believes about style and fashion. Indulgently about style, heavy on photography and less on coverage, and with a healthy does of celebrity worship (see Love’s blog following Victoria Beckham for Fashion Week). And the fabulously naked covers. Watch for their new movie preview, The Love Thing. More...
Tags: verbal identity, valentine's day, social media, naming, name, the love magazine, bloglovin', victoria beckham, wet, oddcast, social application, app, fashion week, new york times |
Categories: General, Naming News, Verbal Identity, Verbal Identity News
Let’s face it: separating your experience as a consumer from your work as a brand consultant is no easy task. I’m sure I’m not the only one in the industry who has been accused of taking my work home with me, pointing out grievous brand errors everywhere from supermarket aisles to the ski slopes. So it should come as no surprise to my friends and family that as I embark on a Vancouver 2010 Olympics adventure, I can’t help but bring my work along for the ride.
We are surely destined for an onslaught of advertising from global brands hoping to benefit from the halo effect of short-term alignment with the spirit of the games. We’re also going to see a continued effort from countless Canadian brands that have been busy trying to assert their inherent “Canadian-ness” for months now, hoping to convince Canadians that our purchases can make us more patriotic. More...
Posted by
Jason Baer on
2/9/2010 9:07 AM |
Comments (4)
After years of silence, Google finally took to the airwaves on Sunday night with one of the most talked-about commercials of the Superbowl. The 50-second spot, which had run the viral circuit before its television debut, is essentially the company’s first mass-market advertisement, and a noted shift in strategy for an organization that has historically been uncomfortable with self-promotion. Much like the brand itself, the spot was clean, contemporary, simple and amusing.
But did Google make the best use of this very expensive opportunity? More...
In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, Interbrand’s hosted a live debate on our facebook fanpage. Fans and employees commented on the night’s biggest advertising hits and misses. Here’s a slice of what they had to say. More...
Inspired by Oscar buzz around George Clooney’s airport film, and Sienna Miller’s announcement for “a back pack and three-quid-a-night hostels” travel plans, this week’s Naming News takes a wander.
SLOW IS THE NEW FAST
New York to London in 37 hours? London-based design and innovation company Seymourpowell has announced a new - slow - travel concept. It's the AirCruise, a silent, pollution free, rush free, luxurious and very retro kite-like airship. More...
Tags: brand names, brand voice, experience, language, luxury, luxury brand, name, naming, travel, dailycandy, black tomato, aircruise, samsung |
Categories: General, Luxury, Verbal Identity, Naming News, Verbal Identity News
As the year winds down, we're compelled to look back, just as much as we look forward. This is our fascination with year-end “top” and “best and worst” lists. For naming and verbal identity, it’s no different. So, in a very, very unscientific poll, we asked our verbal identity team to submit their favorite names for 2009. Here’s what we found.
- Google Wave - inspired by the name for a futuristic video messaging technology from Josh Whedon’s Firefly, it’s nicely evocative. Catch the wave, ride the wave.
- Droid – about as opposite as possible from the human touch of the iPhone, Droid came up on our love it and hate it lists. Love it for the do-it-for-me meaning. Hate it for the remoteness.
- Nook – while Kindle set out to set the world on fire, Nook brought us back to the personal, time-for-yourself aspect of reading.
- Bing – OK, so we’re a little biased here. But we love the sound of found.
- Soap & Glory - and all their sub-brands, including the Sexy Motherpucker™ "extreme formula lip plumping gloss with scientifically proven powerfill® microspheres that explode in volume..."
Not lost on us was the popularity of short, vowel-filled name landscape: Hulu, Vudu, Qubo, Nook, Vook, Via…
The one name that topped our what-were-they-thinking list: Todd’s D-bag.
Others worth mentioning:
- Vegemite’s iSnack 2.0.
- Kellogg's® Live Bright™ Brain Health Bars - brain health is not exactly appetizing.
- Michael Kors Very Hollywood - whoops, couldn’t get the trademark.
While we love looking back, we’re also ready to look forward. So as we start the new year, we’ll be looking specifically at what’s shaping – or dare we say, trends – for names and verbal identity.
Here’s to the New Year.
As Japanese department stores have seen sharp drops in sales this year, Uniqlo has seen the opposite affect with stronger than expected revenues that have even out performed their own targets. And as luxury consumption trends in Japan are starting to shift from extravagance to thrift, Uniqlo has been quick to spot the trend of young Japanese women sporting $1500 Gucci bags with $30 jeans and sweaters.
Enter Uniqlo’s new collaboration with German fashion designer Jill Sander. Entitled +J, the clothing range offers a selection of clothes in her signature monochromatic style but with a value added price tag. Although Uniqlo has previously collaborated with designers before, this is the first time with a well-known fashion designer whose silhouetted minimalism should reach an accord with Japan’s fashion conscious young. Not to mention Uniqlo’s unique selling position of providing fashionable clothing with affordable prices. More...
Our Linguistics Demystified For Brands series has focused on the role of linguistics in choosing real-world names, coining names from scratch, and evaluating the chances of success going to market. Now that you’re armed with all this linguistic insight, naming your product or service should be a breeze, right?
Not always. Once you’re coming down the home stretch, a linguistic perspective can help get you out of a naming rut. Let’s say you’re positioning a new product as all about the attributes of speed, energy and precision. And, logically, your shortlist is brimming with Z names – after all, sound symbolism and its many boosters have you sold on the way that Z implies – speed, energy and precision. There’s a couple names in particular with which you’re enamored, crushed out – in mad love even. There’s just two obstacles to consummating the relationship. One is differentiation — your category may be maxed out on Z names and sounds. And the other is ownability – all the best Z names may be taken. It’s like being in love with an unattainable star. More...
Tags: brand, naming, name, cultural checks, language, linguistic, linguistics, mistakes, name, naming, verbal identity |
Categories: General, Verbal Identity
You may wonder how celebrity babies can possibly be linked with linguistics. Well, it seems reminders for global linguistic and cultural checks for names come from unexpected places - and sources. More...
