First off, Peter Arnell of the Arnell Group is one of the leading lights of branding today. He’s an artist, he has taste, he’s daring and though I’ve never seen him in action is probably larger...Pepsi.  Pepsi needs energy, not merchandising tactics. It needs an idea that mobilizes drinkers.  It needs a killer ad campaign first, then the merch and promos and digital games can follow .  

  On the car radio this weekend I heard an ad that absolutely floored me. It was the best written ad I heard in a long, long time. Forgive my creative license here, but it went something like this: ...feel something, then do something. If more copywriters, account planner, and chief marketing officers understood the “feel” part of the equation, the business of selling would be much improved.  

  Warren Buffet wrote an Op-Ed piece in The Times today telling the world his intentions to buy only American stocks.  Not with Berkshire Hathaway money, but his own. His philosophy? “Be fearful when...in difficult economic times will prosper when things turn around. It’s imperative to know what drives your customers and your competitor’s customers when people are fearful.  Now is your chance.     

I’m embarrassed to say I am one of those people that never give anything to beggars. That’s what we 50 year olds call them, at least from my part of the world. This was a rule of mine because I used...change. So long as there is some jingle in the pants, I will give it.   It’s a start. PS. I saw a woman give a homeless man her orange the other day, and it near brought me to tears. Peace!

I’m not sure what it was about Heroes, NBC’s 3 year old hit of show, but I’ve never found it too easy to watch. Having had the opportunity to do some promotional work with Hayden Panettiere, one...Sarah Connor Chronicles” on FOX.   Summer Glau’s Cameron is the coolest, most brilliantly acted character on TV.   This kid’s got more acting chops than anyone I’ve seen in years. Amazing!  

  There was an interesting article in the NY Times Business Section over the weekend about Amazon and eBay. It suggested Amazon is winning because they do better long-term planning and are...on other “family” businesses. As for Amazon: Stop with all the “trust” value prop talk. Make your business about “price.” Trust is earned and requisite, it’s not a branding idea.  Peace!    

  There’s talk in the automotive world of Toyota Motor Company spinning off the Prius brand. The Prius brand would stand alone in the U.S. market only and sell at Toyota dealerships, similar to...leadership.  Toyota is strong now and will remain so by staying focused. A line extension in this market will divert management, potentially move the brand backward, and hurt their eminence.      

  Men are weird. You know it. I know it. There are all sorts of “man things” which are unexplainable. Odd rules.     Getting men to use hand lotion is going to be tough. That said, it is a brilliant...gave all men permission to color their hair. (A billion dollar lost opportunity for hair color companies.) Had he done an ad for hair color, it would have flopped bigger than a singing cop TV show.  

  I’ve been following the growing gaming category recently and was surprised to note that gamers exhibit a high degree of creativity. The litmus was a story about a game company that provided tools...    Creativity and artistry should not just be the domain of the top 10%, but of everyone. And we should encourage consumer-generated art and creative.  We all need to be more creative.  

  Okay, I’m a little bit of a geeze but when it comes to marketing and selling I know of what I speak. In a recent email exchange with an extremely smart and successful digital age marketer, he offered...do something.” That’s what good marketing does. Authenticity, transparency and all the other “encies” are just marketing palaver, and the price of doing business. Feel and do, that’s the key.