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...

:~

Tesco insulating against a cold winter ahead

Tesco's first half results were revealed today and the news is generally positive. In a week where the retail giant also announced that they were moving into the home insulation business - the company seems to be continuing to sail through the economic minefield relatively unscathed. With fuel bills ever rising and generous government subsidies home insulation is one business that seems to be booming, and n typical Tesco style - they've moved in for a piece of the pie. Indeed this would seem a much safer bet than their financial services offerings at the moment. Today Tesco Chairman David Reid was at pains to tell us that Tesco is holding up strongly but warning with just a hint of modesty in his triumphalism that Tesco is unlikely to be completely unaffected by current events.

In marketing terms Tesco have started to shift their promotion back to their core business at the checkouts and play up their grocery offering, highlighting value for money. Despite having several press ads banned by the ASA in August for making a comparison against ASDA that it deemed unfair, Tesco continues to position on price in their most recent campaigns in what is likely to be a fierce battle amongst the supermarkets in the crucial run-up to Christmas. Both Tesco and ASDA announced hundreds of discounts across their stores last week heralding an almighty scrap ahead, and today Waitrose's Managing Director, the aptly named Mark Price appeared on Radio 4 stating that he thinks food prices will start to come down after the rapid rises we've seen in the past months.

I for one am currently reconsidering my supermarket shopping habits and I suspect I'm not the only one. In a climate where there are a lot of potential 'switchers', or to put it in political terms - 'floating voters', the fight to retain previously loyal customers will be vital for all supermarkets, and I'm sure those at the 'value' end of the positioning dichotomy will also be looking to recruit those 'trading down'. In my view, Waitrose and M&S are probably the most vulnerable supermarkets in the current climate, as their premium brand reputations may lead even its usually loyal (to the point of evangelism) shoppers to look elsewhere in search of better value.

Mark Price may need to start to mark down his prices in earnest in coming months if he's to maintain his market share...

:~

Style or Substance? A Tale of Two Sarahs

The two women grabbing all of the political headlines in recent weeks met last night at a charity dinner hosted by Sarah Brown.

The two Sarahs, Palin and Brown are both women of stature and intellect, and yet we still find a great deal of the discussion in the media about their personal style. Is this right or fair? Should we just concentrate on the politics? On our moral high ground we could dismiss this comment as misogyny, but I for one will freely admit that I am interested in how these women present themselves, and I think it's important.

Call it personal branding or whatever you like, but as much as we may deny it, the impact we have on people is made up of a whole range of things about them, including their physical appearance, mannerisms, tone of voice, and the way they dress. It may be a controversial view, but I believe we owe it to ourselves to present our best self to the world, even if it is not an essential part of our job. The problem many women have is in creating a personal style that does not overpower what they are trying to say.

I was in the states when Sarah Palin was announced as the Republican running-mate for John McCain, and there was a huge amount of coverage across the network about her 'sexy hockey mom' image, which had an undercurrent of dismissal about it. Palin's look is polished and professional but with that edge of sexiness which may or may not be deliberate. Either way, I'm sure she has a team of advisers and stylists helping her create the signature look. She certainly looked worldly, and for someone who didn't have a passport until last year that was maybe what was required.

At the Labour Party conference this week Sarah Brown, however, was incredibly understated in her dress. In fact, for the key speech in which she introduced her husband (and for which she has since been feted by the vast majority of the British press) she wore an ill-fitting black and grey outfit which (in my opinion) could not have been more drab if it had tried. Certainly no hint of provocation there, and yet it seems to have worked for her. Sarah doesn't seem to make the bold, ill-advised mistakes that Cherie Blair did, but neither does she look 'stylish'. However, in many ways this is what is most likely to endear her to the British public - she looks quite ordinary. Compared to the stylised artifice of Carla Bruni's Dior wardrobe on the recent state visit from France, Sarah Brown has an earthiness which may indeed save her husband's bacon.

So,what's the marketing message here? Well, like it or not appearances are important, and no matter what we look like physically, we have control over parts of the way we appear to others through our dress and grooming, and that goes for businesses too. There's no shame in presenting your best self to the world - it might even win you some business...or an election! :~