What's your brand? Do you even know?

Last week I watched the movie Stranger than Fiction and got lost in the writing and story and for an hour or so wanted to be Maggie Gyllenhall because her character was all waifish and darling and brave and not a candyass at all. There is a scene in that movie that I love. (even more than the part where he brings her flours or the part where he sings "I'd go the whole wide world"... OK, I dropped that in so that you'd get the context and be reminded of how wonderful it is to be brave)



I remember the first time I saw that part. I think it made me cry a little. It was a reminder of what it felt like to truly connect to another person.

BUT, the scene that really got me thinking about connections and how they are made was when Maggie's character offers the Taxman fresh out of the oven cookies after he's spent the day going through her messy files. She was hard on him that day. She stood her ground and told him how she felt. There was no facade, no bullshit, no sugar coating the truth. Not a candyass. Her character was real and organic and horrible and delightful at the same time. As he went to leave her bakery she made an offering. 



I know, it's a movie and somebody wrote these beautiful pieces together to entertain us and make us feel something. But, what I loved most about the movie is that I got a sense of her brand. Who she was. The perception she put out to people. And, it made me think about countless conversations I've had with friends recently about women and men we know, are associated with, or have run in to recently who put offending brands out there and make some of us scratch our heads and wonder.

I have worked in the branding world for a long time. I have built brands for companies and products big and small. When building a corporate brand I always take in to consideration the people who will have to carry that brand and share a consistent message over time. They influence the brand and as it is developed often has to adapt to what they are capable of delivering. You have to give them both, the brand and the company, the best chance for success.

This is the first time in all of my years doing this kind of work that I actually thought about the brand of an individual. A good friend of mine summed it up as being more than the clothes you wear, the job you do, or the house you live in. It is more than a logo, a vision/story. It is the overall perception of a person by others. Do you know what yours is?

Great brands make great connections. You remember the great brands. You remember the people who know who they are and are confident and clever and bright. It's their brand. I feel totally connected to certain people because of their brands. My best friend has the best brand ever. She was a miracle find. My Mel who is so strong and so genuinely fantastic. My mom... Wonderwoman. Oh, and Marc Jacobs.

Seriously, do you know your brand? Don't be a candyass. Figure it out and put it out there. And make sure what you put out there is good and brings good and offers something to someone else. What good are we if we don't share ourselves and find connections?

Bitchin Marketing Makes me Giddy

I have about a dozen posts written and ready to go. I've been sitting on them for a few weeks because I've been a tiny bit wrecked and had to have a meltdown about not working for awhile. I've worked full-time for nearly two decades. This "break" made part of my brain melt and a lot of weird clear liquid to poor out of my eyes. I don't cry. This broke me. The silver lining in all of this was catching up on every past episode of ... well everything. And, commercials. Some of the advertising out this year is the best I've seen in a decade. And, I worked in advertising forever.

Really, when I say Bravo Kotex I totally mean it. I'm a brand girl. It's what I do. And, I'm a brand snob. And, for years Kotex was a yawn. Nothing appealing. The products didn't compare to Tampax. And, while Tampax wasn't necessarily THE SHIT it still was and has remained the market leader. So, I stuck with it. Until now. If you can put together an ad like the one below and make me laugh and make me want to buy your product, you rule. I applaud the marketing team that decided to get real and make it funny and address the ridiculous dancing, frolicking, and blue liquid nonsense. Not only did their brand get a full update, but they hit the target market right between the eyes. I purchased, I saved money, and I am totally satisfied.



I hate hate hated the new commercial for the Schick Quattro TrimStyle. I still hate it. I get that it's kind of funny to have shrubbery change shape throughout a commercial about a women's bikini trimmer, but the music was stupid and they could have actually made it funny, not tacky. If you want to see it, you can find it on youtube. But, if you want to see the good stuff that WilkinsonSword released in the UK, you need to CLICK THIS. This stuff is genius. It's got a little SNL quality to it and I'd be surprised if we didn't see them rip it off because these vignettes are ridiculously funny. I get that a lot of women don't like to talk about the shaving or waxing of the vag area. Get over it. I know Oprah leaves it au natural and that might be a trend for like five of you. It's totally cool. But there are masses that wholly disagree with the natural bit. While the commercials are fantastic, I thought the product was sub-par and prefer my Bliss version. Just sayin.

This is my favorite one.



Car commercials are generally lame. I don't care that there is an extra deep compartment for groceries or some hidden bat cave in your new super hot minivan. I've never seen a commercial and thought that I want to see that car, but I have recently wanted to find out who Toyota used for this series of funny for the Sienna. The Swagger Wagon ads by Toyota are fricking fantastic. The wife is so much better than the husband, but it's the nerd factor that makes him so endearing. I love how fierce they are about their minivan.

The fact is that I have a bunch of friends who feel similarly about their cars. They feel totally badass driving their dream cars and often think other people are looking at how badass they look in these vehicles. We're not talking Audis or M series anything, but big Tahoes and Odysseys and Grand Cherokees. It's funny and I have to say that when they think they're badass... they mostly are. Check it. I dare you not to laugh just a little. OK, and truth be told, I may want to go see this Sienna. The rest of the ads in the series are pretty boss.



The world of advertising is full of big posers and a lot of agencies with people who are generally the opposite of creative or interesting. I know, I worked with a ton of those people and wondered why the hell they thought they should be in this business. But these three examples proved that there's still a lot of good stuff out there. And none of these companies or the agencies they hired are Candyasses! And, that I love.

Embrace great brands. Get your trim (or wax) on. And, take a little pride in your ride.

Peace out.