I grew up with perhaps the most intense brand war of all-time. This was epitomized in the famous taste-tests between Coke and Pepsi. Both colas were nearly 100 years old when the Pepsi Challenge was launched in 1975. Most consumers favoured the flavour of Pepsi. This war has raged since and has not only been […]
I grew up preppy. A Canadian kind of preppy. Often Ralph Lauren polos were out of reach both due to cost and supply. This was the 1980’s. When an outlet store of Ralph’s opened in my neighborhood of Tuxedo in Winnipeg, I was a frequent browser. More affordable were Roots and Beaver Canoe brands (you […]
Having ghostwritten 9 books and put out my own on marketing’s rich history, I know what books do well. Self-help, leadership, romance, wellness are hot categories. So, too, is true crime…and not only in the form of books. Podcasts, streaming content, traditional television, long read articles and more share the depravity and cruelness of the […]
Why, oh why, should I write about this, you ask? Well, because, they all hung in my family’s summer cottage. So, let’s find out how they came to be and the legacy they leave. Remember the Tennis Girl Poster? A very cheeky one, indeed. What throws many off is it is British. Most assume American […]
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As we all hunker down to limit the spread of covid 19, this is a time to reset our practices and reconnect with those dear to us in the best possible ways. Many of us will reassess our priorities, habits and rituals. One, I have allowed to slip is reading. Streaming services and screens have […]
Let me make this real quick. Advertising, marketing and creative agencies are horrible at marketing and building their own brand. Cobbler’s shoes and all that (“someone very good at their profession but are completely unable or unwilling to use this ability on themselves”). While head of marketing at Interbrand, I obsessed over our brand. Given […]
Let me tell you a story. It’s a bit about our past, a bit about our future but more importantly, it concerns what is happening right now. It is also a story that nears 2,500 words because our complex world cannot be dumbed downed, reduced to a vague tagline, summed in a tweet, or captured […]
Did you know that in 2018, luxury purveyor Burberry admitted it had destroyed £90 million worth of clothing and accessories over the previous five years. After a public outcry, the company stopped burning returned and leftover merchandise. Now they focus on recycling and donating. Unfortunately, that is just a drop in the bucket. You see, […]