But quite what role Prof Drori sees for pleasure at the core of governance is baffling. No doubt had the Professor been pressed further, that ubiquitous, sticking plaster word ‘brand’, would have passed his lips, possibly influenced by too much scrutinising of the Conservatives wishy-washy ‘oak tree’ symbol, or Labours’ chocolate box rose offering, all bloom and no thorns.
What Prof Drori has fallen foul of is believing that the experience of visiting Parliament should be a comfortable one. Not every destination should be dressed up as smiley and cuddly, and in this instance the sobriety of history and resolution should be the overriding sense.
Perhaps Professor Drori, the self-styled ‘specialist in digital and outreach strategy for large public organisations in science and culture’ or should I say ‘chairman of the Speaker’s Advisory Council on Public Engagement’ should consider a more consumer friendly tweak to his own branding, before sticking his cosy views into history.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/waterstones-reverts-to-original-logo/3033213.article

A small triumph for enduring brand thinking . . . as evolution needs to start from a solid base. What a pity they didn’t ask for a more rational and learned opinion in the first place.

Those familiar with the Smith & Milton back catalogue, will readily recall the PPPhealthcare mark. The big triple P with its gold heart. Some may even know the reason for its format – at launch the heart was substituted with other symbols to represent both range of companies within the group, but also to allow their individuality to flourish.
It will not surprise you to learn that the group symbol we developed for Denplan, to work with the Triple P, was a green apple.
A perfect, crisp green apple, that a healthy set of teeth could bite on.
It replaced a stylised, graphic version that Denplan was then using.The idea of course was that over time, this single apple would be subsumed into the PPPhealthcare brand identity and like all the group companies the monolithic PPP+gold heart would rule.

Commercial history set a different outcome and that identity vision was never realised, yet nearly twenty years on, Denplan still proudly display their singular Apple.
The question now for Simply Health is will they seek to stamp their own colourful graphic doctrine on the Denplan brand, or will they acknowledge that the power of recognition that the Denplan identity has established? Could it offer a more interesting direction for their own identity?
For in the battle for recall in our over crowded memory banks, what is easier to grasp, something familiar, appealing and relevant to health, such as a shiny apple
or
another swizzling rainbow, reminiscent of – the spinning wait cursor – derogatorily named, the spinning beach ball of death. http://spinningbeachballofdeath.com
I rest my case.

The recent furore over the fake Apple stores in China served to highlight a simple truth. China is clearly hungry to embrace the idea that successful western brands sell themselves, but seems ill-equipped to take on the branding challenge for itself.
It may be able to knock-off an Apple Store but does this simply highlight that the Chinese believe branding to be an easily applicable veneer?

A quick browse of the top Chinese brands reveals their visual brand language as a hotchpotch of indigenous characters and a dollop of western minimalist graphics. The brand identity language of China is as yet un-established and certainly indistinctive on the current world stage.If the country wishes to sustain an export boom for its goods then it will have to do better.
If China wants to take brand lessons from the west, it can’t start with where the best sit today – or it’s just another knock-off.
It needs to understand that the universal symbols of consumerism like McDonalds and Coca-Cola didn’t start off with the pared down presence they extoll today. It has taken generations of working through the best messages and fine-tuning to arrive at these stream-lined ‘super brands’.

China needs to go back to school and look to the early part of the 20th century to understand how branding differences began emerging.
It needs to learn that for most companies, a story or an idea set the ball rolling and that their identities grew from these. China needs to take a look at the graphic metamorphosis of General Electric, Lucky Strike, Shell, British Airways, and even Starbucks, to understand the emotional power associated with defining a unique symbolism and individual trademark. Conversely, Japan, which has spent 60 years learning from Europe and Madison Avenue, has achieved a design style that Western designers yearn to equal, and lead the world in both graphic design and innovation.

Chinese manufacturers realise they need better products if they want to break out of China and beef up their margins on sales abroad, so there is a boom in industrial and product design.China is also getting to grips with the idea that its home market requires status and must show this in its products, which currently put the superficial ahead of deeper, more sustainable brand values. This is arguably OK when you have a home market of 1.3 billion, but it won’t work on us.

Someone needs to help China rediscover its emotional past, to help paint the visual language for future brands like no other on the planet.
What we need to see is the real China, not a second-guessed China but a true China. The China with a proud and distinctive history of art, myth and design. Because that’s where the brand story always starts.

The more interesting story is how Innocent mercilessly plagiarised the early PJ thinking and talking, until it wrapped itself into a self-obsessed cocoon of righteousness. I am not knocking this classic Challenger approach, more power to their ego/elbow. But I would have liked to think that with PJ out of the way, (Pepsi managed PJs into terminal decline with an equally classic piece of misunderstanding) Innocent would have branched out on its own, and stop rifling through the ‘how to talk fruit to your customers’ file that PJs had filled so eloquently.

Sad to see or rather hear that the latest Innocent TV spot features the memorable tagline “the fruit, the whole fruit and nothing but the fruit.”
This was Pete & Johnny’s leading on-pack and comms message on launch day in 1994. A fitting tribute or ‘a whole’ slug of lazy marketing.
Let’s consider it the former, as sour grapes was never a PJ flavour; there was always too much optimism for that.

Frankly, I was shittin’. I didn’t know if they were blunted, had AKs strapped or bangers and I tried to flag the Benz. But before I could say ‘What’s crackin’?’ all they seemed to want to do was get hype.

Sounds Greek to you? Well the new urban Yaris TV is pretty Greek to me.  For some obscure reason Toyota are  fielding an  animated group of multi-cultural wankstas hip-hopping some ‘sweet moooves’ coz the ‘smart money’s on Yaris’.

Why a 2 dimensional garage bunch of potential car-jackers should instill any idea of aspiration or pride in being a Yaris owner, I am unsure. If ‘gettin’ down with kidz’ is a strategy, it seems to have as much appeal as an M25 full of boy racers in your grill. This commercial is more perplexing when you learn that the Yaris is most popular amongst female drivers – clearly they are not parking in the same demonic garage as I am, because I see worse times in store for them, beyond a gentle keying.

Together with the ugly animation, this is an example of the worst dumming down since the Halifax house of DJ horrors (see What are Halifax celebrating?, 12th Jan 2010). There have been some dodgy car ads over the years but this really takes the snap.

For those less familiar with ghetto slang:

Busta Yaris aint clown walkin – Phony Yaris isn’t dancing a new hip-hop style.

gully – Ghetto tuff

crew – A group of people who work together for a common cause.

pumpin’ juice – a person’s street credibility

cuttin’ the rug – getting down, dancing

blunted – high off marijuana rolled in a Philly blunt (cigar)

AKs strapped – packing an AK47 gas-operated assault rifle

bangers – knives

Benz – Mercedes

hype  – to perform (Hip Hop) with great energy

What’s crackin – what’s happening

wankstas – faux gangstas

in your grill – in your face

snap – to make fun of someone with clever jokes

The first fact was just very pleasing to learn. That after the Dutch-diseased decimation in the 1970′s of our one true indigenous tree, the Elm; one survives as healthy as a London Plane, in Marylebone High Street. Pretty impressive when you think that 25 million others didn’t make it.
The second fact learned between Waterloo and Victoria will appeal to all equestrian lovers like me.
We were idly chatting about the said reliance on SatNav by the lesser species of driver and how my man never used such heinous technological aids, when I suggested that for drivers of a Hackney Carriage – as it proudly states on his license plate – it was ever thus.
He rejoined with a bit of cockney knowledge that I would really like to be true – ” and do you know why we don’t have to wear seatbelts? It’s so we can get out and feed the ‘orse.”
Cabbies, don’t you love ‘em. I must learn to tip more.