BrandDigital | BrandSimple: The Blog

The biggest upset in this year’s Super Bowl wasn’t that the Saints beat the Colts, although that was pretty exciting. It was that most of the commercials were less than wonderful. Like everyone in the marketing business, I watched the game expecting to be bowled over by the ads, or at least a good number of them. Yes, I chuckled at the little kid protecting both his mom and his Doritos from a besotted suitor. And the coca-cola ad, in which Monty Burns gets his come-uppence, followed by a Coke and a smile, made me smile. I also really like the Google ad which used the device of a charming search-story line to reinforce its brand promise. But in more cases than not, the branding seemed to shift into neutral. Not a smart media moment. When you’ve got such a diverse audience and a one-shot opp to present your brand promise, you’ve either got to break the rules with conviction, not half measures, or you’ve got to tell your brand’s story with simple brilliance. In this edition of Forbes Online, I write about how events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics offer companies the chance to make the play for millions of viewers at the same time, occasions few and far between since digital technology took over our lives. When consumers can compare and contrast ads and brands in such a finite amount of time and space, it’s not the time to go neutral, but go for the win.

Image permission being requested @coca-cola-art.com

I wasn’t invited to the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, where leaders representing over 85% of the world’s economy are meeting to tackle world issues. I was, however, invited to write a column for Ad Age about the fact that consumers are more motivated than ever to choose brands that improve lives beyond their own. More so, that the very meaning of the terms “good brand or bad brand” have taken on entirely new meaning in a marketplace where corporate environmental and social responsibility is matched in interest only by the digital technology that makes it so easy to track and spread. When I say “good brand, bad brand,” I’m not referring companies who have taken up the mantle of cause-related marketing or philanthropy but, rather, companies who have made a considered decision to link their a brand benefit with social purpose and are becoming category leaders as a result. After you read the headlines about the world leaders, take a minute to read about some pretty impressive brand leaders who are making it easier for consumers to make a difference.