So it may sound a bit discriminating to judge by appearances only but if that’s all the information you have, you don’t have much of a choice. We all judge and form opinions on a daily basis when we are faced with the outer shell of a product. For all we know, the box or bottle containing a product can be an empty shell but at least we have the tangible presence of the product through its outer skin, the packaging. (more…)
In 1997, a new search engine calling itself AskJeeves was introduced to the internet. The website had adopted Jeeves, a character from the stories of P.G. Wodehouse, as a sort of mascot – seemingly the ideal symbol for a search engine. Like Sherlock Holmes or Dumbledore, Jeeves is one of those literary characters whose wisdom never fails.
“Here he was, with his head bulging at the back and on his face that look of quiet intelligence that comes from eating lots of fish,” Wodehouse writes in his novel Carry on, Jeeves. “I knew from experience what a wizard he was at removing the oppressed from the soup.”
However, upon closer inspection, the company’s use of Jeeves is anything but obvious. How many people nowadays read Wodehouse? How many have even heard of him? But according to Patrick Crisp, the Director of Public Relations for Ask.com, Jeeves’ genius side was never the real point.
We’ve all done it – made an impulsive purchase in the most random of situations. We are innocently minding our own business while meandering through a store, when our peripheral vision is abruptly caught up by something out-of-place in the usual monotony of this habitual haunt. We stop dead in our tracks and we stare a bit. Then without thinking it through, we take the attractive abnormality to the check-out, remove our wallets from the safety of a pocket or purse, and beg for the person behind the cash register to spare us some dignity by letting us make this purchase as quickly as possible. With the item bagged and a receipt in hand, we scurry off to study in-depth what we’ve just purchased. Unique logos, striking text, bright colors, unusual shapes and textures – these are visual fixations that we can’t resist taking home with us, even if that product doesn’t really fulfill a need we have. We are addicted within a few seconds to the packaging of a product we may know very little about. The allure is all in the design. (more…)
If the thriving, ubiquitous presence of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks locations around the USA is any indication, Americans sure do love their coffee. According to the Dunkin Donuts website, it is estimated that more than 100 million Americans drink a total of 350 million cups of coffee a day. That’s a lot of caffeine (and decaf) consumption going on from coast to coast. So how does that translate into profits for the country’s two most recognizable coffee purveyors? How well does each company’s brand capture their share of this sizeable market?
To any casual observer, the stark differences between Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, and their respective demographic, is relatively easy to identify. While many Americans prefer the pleasant, flavorful blend of DD’s 100% Arabica coffee, there are countless others who crave the decidedly stronger, darker strains of high-quality, whole bean brews and Italian-style espresso beverages offered by Starbucks. The former, with its trademark hot-pink and orange logo and limited seating (at least in most locations) tends to draw in a “hit and run” type of crowd, looking for their morning shot on the way to the office. Starbucks, on the other hand, with its wireless connections, comfy chairs, contemporary fixtures and up-to-date musical ambiance, offers the perfect “gathering place” atmosphere, whether you’re an entrepreneur conducting business, a college student surfing the internet, or a hip guy or gal, looking for a “third home” to hang out and read the paper.
(more…)
That is exactly what the firm, Guillermo Brea y Assciados was hired to do. Argentina was looking to re-brand its image as a forward thinking, modern country. One that has rebounded from the financial disasters of the late ’90s. It appears they are on the right track with this new branding…it is clean, appealing and conveys the signal of change the country is currently going through. Quite a score for the design firm, talk about exposure!
Gavin Lucas and Mike Dorrian have put together a compilation of some of the most unusual and imaginative advertising campaigns, most of which are staged in public. The Trimline Security Glass is simply brilliant and how can you not love a nine-ton block of ice chiseled into a VW?
