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post thumbnail for A Lesson In Marketing Strategy From the Cheetos Shape Hunt

19 2025 June

A Lesson In Marketing Strategy From the Cheetos Shape Hunt

Searching for Cheetos that are shaped like anything is a fairly idiotic way to spend your time. It’s also surprisingly popular despite its idiocy. The...

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post thumbnail for Useless Rebranding and the Underappreciated Marketing Strategy of Doing Nothing

23 2025 May

Useless Rebranding and the Underappreciated Marketing Strategy of Doing Nothing

HBO rebranded to HBO Max, and then to Max … and now back to HBO Max. Meanwhile Google is losing their longstanding “I’m Feeling Lucky”...

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post thumbnail for Why the Nike Backlash May Be Just the Beginning

02 2025 May

Why the Nike Backlash May Be Just the Beginning

When Jennifer and I wrote Beyond Diversity, one of the first things we talked about was blind spots. We knew that there would be things we...

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post thumbnail for Inside the Marketing Savvy of the World’s Lightest Whiskey Bottle

28 2025 April

Inside the Marketing Savvy of the World’s Lightest Whiskey Bottle

Claiming that a product is the world’s most ___________ is the most common marketing gateway to empty hyperbole that is sure to inspire plenty of...

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post thumbnail for The Sad Retreat of April Fool’s Day and What It Reveals About Our Culture

04 2025 April

The Sad Retreat of April Fool’s Day and What It Reveals About Our Culture

The week of April Fool’s Day, I regularly look forward to reading about all the brands taking risks, exploring their fun sides and doing something...

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post thumbnail for Rimowa Sells Old, Beat-Up Suitcases and Demand Is Off the Charts

02 2025 April

Rimowa Sells Old, Beat-Up Suitcases and Demand Is Off the Charts

Buyback programs are getting popular among retailers in many categories but usually they are for products that are still in “sellable” condition that can be...

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post thumbnail for Astronauts Are Leading the Quest to Prevent Space Advertising from Filling the Sky

24 2025 March

Astronauts Are Leading the Quest to Prevent Space Advertising from Filling the Sky

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), is a beautifully imagined group within the United Nations that aims to make sure space...

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post thumbnail for Can Brand America Be Destroyed?

21 2025 March

Can Brand America Be Destroyed?

Diplomats and trading partners don’t trust the word of America anymore. Countries are hosting summits and meetings to discuss alliances specifically omitting the US. Politicians...

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post thumbnail for The Tesla Resistance Is Real. Here’s What It Means …

19 2025 March

The Tesla Resistance Is Real. Here’s What It Means …

Tesla owners are disguising their cars as a sign of resistance. There are plenty of YouTube videos with tips on how to hide the evidence that you’re...

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post thumbnail for The Ultimate Movie Brand Partnership: Kleenex and IMDB Launch “The Kleenex Score”

12 2025 March

The Ultimate Movie Brand Partnership: Kleenex and IMDB Launch “The Kleenex Score”

There aren’t many brands that define their entire category so much that people literally use the brand name interchangeably to describe the product. Kleenex has...

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post thumbnail for Is This the Age of the Obscured Brand Logo?

17 2025 February

Is This the Age of the Obscured Brand Logo?

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...

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post thumbnail for The Long Game of the Kardashians May Be Smarter Than You Think

09 2025 January

The Long Game of the Kardashians May Be Smarter Than You Think

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...

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post thumbnail for What We Can Learn From 2024 Most Hated Ads

03 2025 January

What We Can Learn From 2024 Most Hated Ads

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...

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