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There was a longstanding joke among my agency friends about the type of feedback we would often get from corporate clients when presenting our creative work. It essentially boiled down to some version of “make the logo bigger.” Brand managers and CMOs alike have long equated a prominent logo with brand building and, by extension, … Read more
Most of us know that reality TV is often heavily scripted and edited to tell an intentionally melodramatic story. Usually the on-screen participants have little to no control over how they are portrayed. The Kardashians have always been different. The family has frequently been criticized for having little talent and only being famous for being … Read more
The worst ads of the year, according to marketing publication The Drum, included Apple’s cringy ad showing the iPad literally crushing human creativity, Google showing how AI could help a seven year cheat her way through writing a fan letter to an Olympian, Jaguar’s controversial brand revamp, Bumble’s bumbling ad imploring their female users to hook … Read more
This past week was panic-inducing across the advertising industry. Two of the “big four” agency holding companies intend to join forces to create the biggest ad agency in the world with over 100,000 employees and an estimated $25B in revenue. The part of the news causing the most fear across the industry probably boils down to one … Read more
British luxury car brand Jaguar just launched a new rebrand and it’s sparking some controversy online because of how radically it moves away from the very recognizable pouncing cat logo that has defined the brand for centuries. Most of the ire seems to speculate that there’s a new team and CMO in charge, the brand is suffering … Read more
The survival of journalism and a free press largely depends on all of our willingness to fund it. One overlooked element of this issue is how digital marketing is purchased and valued. Consider this eye-opening assessment of how digital marketing and “brand safety tech” works and why these tools that were designed to prevent ads … Read more
Six years ago, Victoria’s Secret shelved their popular runway show after significant blowback from media and consumers alike who felt the show was objectifying women. Since then, the brand has had to go through leadership changes and significant soul searching about what it stood for. This week they brought back their runway show in an attempt to … Read more
The iconic food storage brand Tupperware just filed for bankruptcy protection. Officially, Tupperware aims to “protect its beloved brand as it shifts towards a digital-first, technology-led company … to enhance its omni-channel capabilities.” At the same time, the company has promised to retain agreements with independent sales consultants, who “remain a core part of the company’s … Read more
Sustainability-first brands like Patagonia have taken their commitment to reuse to the furthest extreme by creating an entire ecommerce experience dedicated to allowing their customers to sell used products to one another. When the Worn Wear platform came out in 2020, the brand was criticized for their crazy idea of inviting their customers to keep … Read more
Brand partnerships can be tricky. One partner may eclipse the other. It can be hard to stand out or make the right commitments. I’ve always admired the way LEGO used partnerships to leverage the content and stories of their partners but add their own unique lens through the various items you could build through co-branded … Read more
Non-Obvious Thinking is my latest book about the 4 secrets of becoming a non-obvious thinker - released 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.
