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You might have seen a randomly bare chested and very good looking guy doing a bunch of short videos that look suspiciously like a funny commercial that has been on TV for months for Old Spice. Starting from a series of ads, over the last 48 hours the advertising team for Old Spice has created … Read more
Now that the Round of 16 is over and we are down to the final 8 teams that will be playing in the Quarterfinals of the World Cup – most of the marketing that has accompanied the games has been played out and it’s a good time to try and look for some lessons from … Read more
On the front page of today's NY Times there is an article about the death of Chevy. Not Chevrolet as a brand, but a leaked memo from GM that directs employees to stop using "Chevy" as the brand shorthand for Chevrolet. Supposedly citing brand consistency as the key reason for the move, the article notes … Read more
Sometimes you just have to love a marketing campaign that starts off with what many people might call an oxymoron. Fairly Priced Ink from Kodak seems like that kind of effort when you first hear about it. After all, when have you ever known printer ink to be anything close to "fairly priced?" As it … Read more
Late last week I had the opportunity to be part of a unique event for the Washington DC area. Dubbed "All Access Fashion" – the three day event was part of Washington's response to NY's Fashion Week and featured many luxury retailers participating in runway shows and customer events hosted at one of the largest … Read more
In a recent ad that Burger King just started running, NASCAR champion Tony Stewart teaches a course to other celebrities about only endorsing brands and products they actually believe in. The ad features Eric Estrada selling his own line of Estrada sunglasses, and an overly botoxed Carrot Top (the comedian) selling his own Carrot Crusher … Read more
Earlier this month, the IFC channel launched a new three part mini-series called Bollywood Hero that featured the story of an American actor (Chris Kattan) who decides to leave Hollywood for Bollywood to become a leading man. The show aired in early August and has been replaying on the channel since then. I found it … Read more
Have you ever used a coupon at a grocery store or submitted a rebate for a product? If so, you've been part of what is one of the more brilliantly conceived direct promotion methods in the marketing world. Coupons (and rebates, another form of couponing) are a big deal. The obvious reason they matter is … Read more
Early this morning Google Apps partnered with Virgin America to launch a unique campaign where they invited people taking Virgin America flights all day, as well as those sitting on computers at home or work to participate in an online scavenger hunt for clues to answer questions they would pose at you on a website … Read more
Infomercials, those long TV ads that air late at night when most reasonable people should be sleeping, are often ridiculed by consumers and marketers alike. What kind of person would fall for those exaggerated claims and supposedly limited time offers? Surely these offers are only accepted by poor desperate insomniacs with too many credit cards, … Read more
Non-Obvious Thinking is my latest book about the 4 secrets of becoming a non-obvious thinker - relesaed 10/01/2024.
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ten books.
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In addition to Non-Obvious Thinking, Rohit is the author of 10 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.
