Pepsi unveils 'new' logo...but have we seen it somewhere before?

Pepsi have revealed their new logo this week with much hype and of course much comment from the arbiters of good brand taste. See left a selection of their logos throughout the years. This new one is supposed to bring back some 'humanity' according to Pepsi's VP Portfolio Brands, Frank Cooper.

Apparently the arrangement of the bands on the new circle is supposed to form a smile (although I had to read the notes on the launch before I picked this up so it's not that obvious on first glance). The smiles will be slightly different for the Diet-Pepsi and Pepsi-Max variants, so bringing together the family of brands. Personally I like the clean feel that's both modern but somehow retro, but I do thing the 'smile' explanation is a bit tenuous and that this could be more of a campaign idea than a long term logo solution.

What I do see, however, is the similarity with the visual identity of the Obama campaign (right), as highlighted by US PR gurus O'Dwyer. Usually I love a good conspiracy theory...are there links between Pepsico and the Obama campaign? Did they insist on him incorporating their logo into his visual ID? If this was a serious plot I'd be interested, but really, when it comes down to it, this is a logo not a move for world domination, so I'm not really that bothered...but Coca-Cola might be...

For the love of the apostrophe! When even our professional bodies get it wrong what hope is there for the possessive plural?

While reading this article by Chris Ingram for Marketing Week my eye was distracted momentarily by something quite shocking. The ad I was being 'served' just didn't scan...

I waited for the next rotation and there it was again, the phrase 'Join marketings new elite' with no apostrophe!

Call me a pedant if you like, but there really is no excuse for such a glaring error in an advertisement, and oh the irony that it should be for one of the industry's (note apostrophe) professional bodies, and promoting their training courses at that.

Don't get me wrong, I know that times have changed and people are no longer as rigid with their application of traditional English grammatical rules, but this surely just makes the IDM look incredibly foolish to everyone in the industry...oh dear.

I love the English language for its diversity, complexity and its ability to adapt over time to serve the changing needs of those who use it. However, I do also believe that there are some basic elements of grammar that have enormous value in terms of conveying meaning, and the apostrophe used to differentiate the plural from the possessive and indeed the possessive plural is one of them.

If those of us who work in marketing wish to be viewed as professionals, it is vital that we uphold certain standards in our use of language. Yes, it is our duty to always be creative, to play with words to make the language convey our messages in new and powerful ways, but this is an example of pure sloppiness. I for one won't be signing up for a copywriting course from the IDM any time soon, will you?

Charisma - nature or nurture?

I have a mental image of Gordon Brown walking into his office at number 10 at the end of a hard day of trying very hard to be 'media-friendly'. He puts on his favourite CD (Westlife's greatest hits), pours himself a glass of scotch and sits down in a winged leather chair by the fire. Mulling over his cabinet reshuffle while the Irish boys croon through a range of sickly covers his ears suddenly prick up.

"...Well you came and you gave without taking, but I sent you away, oh Mandy"

''That's it!' he says to himself - Mandy!

...and the rest is history.

Well, that may not be exactly what happened, but wouldn't it be brilliant if it was.

What I find very difficult to grasp about Gordon Brown is his seeming lack of warmth...of realism. That's why I'd love to think that behind closed doors he has his moments where he is just a human being like the rest of us. However it came about I can't help but think bringing Mandy back is a good decision. Politics needs characters, personalities, leaders, people who, even if we disagree with them, demand our notice whatever they do.

Charisma...in my view it's the basis on which all the truly influential political (and military) leaders in history have built their power. Unfortunately for Gordon Brown he just doesn't have it.

This of course begs the question - can charisma be taught? With the right coaching from spin doctors and PR queens, can anybody learn how to capture the public imagination? In a word - no.

I personally think that media training is always too obviously fake in those who need it. If you already have natural charisma media training can polish up your hard edges and help you come across better on camera, but it won't give you that sparkle, that smile, that turn of phrase that can hold a room spellbound.

I'm sure we can all identify any number of historic leaders who had charisma - but who in our current crop of politicians and powerful people can we say has that magic ingredient? There are very few UK politicians who have any (or perhaps who are allowed by their PR teams to have any) personality these days. Boris Johnson is a notable exception and all the more refreshing for it.

Peter Mandelson is not necessarily a naturally likeable man, but he has a force of personality that cannot be ignored. I look forward to seeing if he can inject a bit of life into a Labour government that is, frankly, as dull as Westlife's greatest hits...

:~