It is taken on faith that Warren Buffett is an investment genius – better than almost anyone at analyzing financial reports and fiduciary data and investing accordingly. But a recent move by one of the world's richest men, however, demonstrates that Buffett is an expert not only of finance, but also branding.

In the video employees put together this year for insurer Geico's annual employee meeting, Buffett makes a cameo dolled up as Guns-n-Roses rock star Axl Rose. Yet this is not the financial guru's first role. In other years, he has appeared in the annual Geico video as both a DJ and a hobo. A hobo!Continue reading...

With Vancouver's 2010 winter events concluded, sports fans are looking forward to the London summer Olympics. However, a paradox has popped up in the attempt to promote the 2012 Games: The very rules put in place to protect the Olympic brand are preventing travel agents from promoting the Olympic brand.

In an effort to protect the reputation of the games, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and the Metropolitan Police are cooperating to warn travel agents about the consequences of breaking trademark and copyright laws. Several agents have already been reprimanded. “It will be tricky for travel firms to benefit from the games if they can’t say 'Go to London for the Olympics,'" said the chairman of the Prevention of Fraud in Travel Group. No kidding Continue reading...

It has recently been established that Facebook is the most popular online brand in the world. If a new study is to be believed, Facebook's popularity also rubs off on brands. Which ones? Well, all of them.

The results of research on social media and brands by iModerate and Chadwick Martin Bailey show that nearly 20 percent of respondents were more likely to buy or recommend "many" brands since becoming a "fan" or "follower" of those brands on Facebook or Twitter. The responses were just as encouraging in other areas.

When it came to at least "a few brands," more than 30 percent of respondents said they would buy a few of the brands they followed on Facebook, while over 40 percent said they would recommend at least a few of those brands to friends. Such positive results for brands followed on Twitter were even higher. Reasons for "friending" the brands were studied as well. The most common reason for Facebooking a brand was to receive discounts. The second most common was being a customer of the brand. The third was just to show support.Continue reading...

Do you remember when having a Commodore computer was something to brag about? Yes? Are you old? Yes. Think about this, today's 25-year-old computer user has probably never even seen a real Commodore computer. But if the brand's new CEO has anything to do with it, that could change soon. Yes, Commodore is back, baby!

Commodore is rising from the ashes like a phoenix – or at least it's trying to. Later this year the brand will release a desktop computer unit enclosed in a keyboard. Commodore's website describes the machine as "...a sleek, anodized aluminum case and a clean, contemporary surface. It’s small, elegant, and unassuming. In fact, it looks so simple it's hard to believe it’s a computer at all." President and CEO Barry Altman told tech blog Engadget that the accompanying advertising campaign will be "something like you've never seen in your life."Continue reading...

From lead-tainted toys and poisoned milk products to deadly dog food, the reputation of quality control standards for the "Made in China" brand has taken a severe beating.

Now, one brand is exploiting the brand's sullied image by making the panic over "China-made" into the pillar of its brand-building strategy; but is it too much?

Opurity vitamin ads are turning up on various blogs across the web. The first I saw was on a right-wing political blog. It probably would not have stood out except that the ad featuring a horrifying image of a factory spewing thick pollution into the sky with the eye-popping copy "Don't trust your health to China... Warning: Multivitamin companies entrust your health to vitamin ingredients made in China. Do you?..."Continue reading...

Is "consultability" part of your brand's marketing campaign? Is that a remarkably dumb question that makes no sense at all?

If you said "yes" to the second question you might take interest in the saga of Budweiser's failed "Drinkability" campaign and the subsequent report from Ad Age depicting the petty infighting as all involved scrambled to assign blame (elsewhere). The story also wonders if an increasing, maybe unnecessary, reliance on consultants is hurting brands. Then again, consultants may just be getting scapegoated... as expected. Continue reading...

Last October, we reported on a brewing Apple trademark battle in Australia. Apple was suing Woolworth, an Australian supermarket, over its use of an apple for its brand logo. Apple claimed the logo would compete for market share and create confusion in the minds of consumers.

Well, it seems Apple's trademark adventures Down Under continue. In a new ruling, the tech giant has been told that it has no exclusive use of its vaunted "i" prefix. More than just another trademark lawsuit loss, reports of questionable legal action on Apple's part is beginning to pile up and the brand that "thinks different" is beginning to look a lot like...*gasp*... 1990s Microsoft. Continue reading...

The year it was founded (1999), online shoe retailer Zappos sold "almost nothing" worth of inventory. Eight years later it grossed $800 million. Last year, Amazon acquired the brand, which gets its name from the Spanish word for shoes (zapatos), for a cool $1.2 billion.

Built on word of mouth and customer recommendations, Zappos' brand relied very little on conventional advertising models. However, in the last few years of growth, Zappos has struck out into new advertising territory with traditional 30-second TV spots. Its latest foray into this area is a mixed bag, but at least the brand appears to be getting one thing right. Continue reading...

Just like any institution that trades on a product and a reputation, law schools have brands. That most law schools similarly promote and build their brands via traditional messaging and conventional channels should come as no surprise. Lately though, Cornell University Law School objects to – and moves to strike! – this characterization.

A month after a Wall Street Journal piece pondered the notion "Why Cornell Law School is like Lady GaGa," the school itself has released an ad campaign with a celebrity spokesman. A fictional celebrity spokesman. Continue reading...

Founded in 1992, fashion brand "For Us By Us" became all the rage in its acronym form. At its peak the brand reportedly grossed more than $350 million.

But now "us" is getting out of the business. The company is re-branding itself "FB" and looking to market its new designs as older and more mature. The new brand's first gambit? A "legacy" campaign. It's not a bold move but it is a smart one that just might finally deliver on the founders' brand promise.

Don't call the rebrand a comeback. Seriously, don't do that. In the brand's own words: "Don’t call it a comeback! The brand that sparked a movement of fashion and music fusion is back. In a marketplace yearning for classic apparel, powerhouse FUBU The Collection answered the call. After a seven-year hiatus from the US market to focus on global expansion, the fashion empire has returned to stake its claim as the “All-American” timeless brand, which it is. Out of its storied past, a new generation of fashion and lifestyle has been born and its name is FB. Welcome to the movement!"Continue reading...

Generally, a strong, popular brand can weather a bad mention in the press. Even a second bit of bad press should be no big deal. However, three, four, or five are cause for alarm. And family dining and entertainment establishment Chuck E. Cheese's should be alarmed.

The Chuck E. Cheese's brand name has been turning up in the news with rather disturbing frequency, and each report evokes more of images "jail time" rather than "fun time." Here is a list of some of the reports from the last few months:Continue reading...

Once upon a time there was just Red Bull. Today, however, the brand finds itself fighting to stay alive in one of the most viscously competitive consumer markets around. Ironically, it's a market the brand practically created.

To stay ahead, the brand employs all manner of brand-building measures, some conventional, some not. The brand runs standard 30-second TV commercials about the drink "giving you wings." It also underwrites F1 racecars and sponsors star athletes like Olympic gold medalists Lindsey Vonn and Shaun "Flying Tomato" White. The brand's less conventional sports sponsorships include airplane races and "soapbox derbies." But one Red Bull promotion is wildly unique. Continue reading...

The Dora the Explorer brand has been extended, licensed, merchandized and partnered with a plethora of other brands and franchises. Now, however, the Dora brand is getting a rock 'n’ roll makeover in one of the most bizarre co-branding schemes in recent memory.

Guns-n-Roses guitar god Slash has agreed to team up with the cartoon brand's parent company, the Nickelodeon network, to design a limited edition Dora the Explorer backpack. The rock star and his iconic black top hat will help design a bag featuring Dora the Explorer that will be auctioned this year to raise money for the Children's Defense Fund.Continue reading...

A look at the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding product placements in the Oscar-nominated films of 2009. So, how did the following brandcameos fare? 

American Airlines in Up In The Air.         Belstaff in Inglorious Basterds.

BET in Precious.                                    BlackBerry in Up In The Air.

BMW in The Blind Side.                         Bristol in An Education.

Chanel in An Education.                        Chrysler Sebring in Up In The Air.

Fenton's in UP.                                     * Günther's in District 9.

Hilton in Up In The Air.                          Jujubees in Avatar.

* RDA in Avatar.                                   Red Owl in A Serious Man.

Sony in District 9.                                Stanford University in Avatar.

Taco Bell in The Blind Side.                   Under Armour in The Blind Side.

Walther in Inglorious Basterds.              "*" Fictional brand.Continue reading...

When it comes to advertising, The Academy Awards can't compete with the Super Bowl. However, a slew of brands paid more than a million dollars per spot for some serious exposure during last night's ceremony. Some wasted their money. Some didn't. A couple really stood out.

American Express and Hershey's went the Good Samaritan route, linking their brands to charitable works. Specifically, AmEx promoted its Takepart.com site while Hershey's raised awareness for its Milton Hershey School. The latter was impactful, employing the line "Every Hershey's product you've enjoy supports the Milton Hershey School."Continue reading...