When Consumers Realize Your Company Has No Soul

There is something to be said for brands that promote virtuous messages. Such is the case with Dove, whose "Real Beauty" campaign encouraged women around the world to accept the beauty of the individual, no matter what society's concept of beauty may be.



Dove followed up this campaign with the engrossing "Evolution" piece, a viral video that showed a beauty model transforming from a natural, makeup-less state to an over mascaraed, runway fashion queen.



Another one of Unilever's lead brands is Axe (known as Lynx in Europe), and Axe has quite a different consumer segment and message. As you're probably aware, Axe Body Spray positions itself as a pheromone for the romantically inclined young male audience. Here's one of their ads (a European Lynx ad to be specific), which, on its own, is also a great creative execution.



All of the attached videos are great pieces when viewed as communications from one brand. However, consumers have begun to peel away from the Dove only messages and view the campaign in the continuum of other Unilever brands. Unilever's envelope pushing campaigns for Axe/Lynx are now being viewed as exactly the type of exploitation that the Dove points out in its new "Onslaught" web film.



This hypocrisy has been picked up as of late in the media, and even non-activist consumers are becoming aware of these two contrasting brands. There are several great lessons to be learned from this situation, which is far from over.

Great (and expensive) brand building run the risk of becoming undone by another brand (or corporate scandal for that matter) under a corporate umbrella, no matter how much marketers try to understate a corporate moniker.

With the information omnipresence revolution we're all taking part of, companies truly need to determine their individual corporate souls. The risk, as we're seeing played out here, is that consumers become disgusted with such brand hypocrisy, realize that your company is just there to make money, and abandon your brands.

Ipod Shuffle Gold of the Week

What does Steve's divine hand have in store today?



Pearl Jam - In Hiding: Though I am not the Pearl Jam devotee that Scott Orn is, I listen to my fair share of the band. One of my favorite Pearl Jam songs is In Hiding, which came off Yield, a well reviewed 4th major album. My freshman year roommate, Chris Goldberg, played this album a little too much. I think I now forgive him.



Filter - Take a Picture: From the same guys who sung about a political figure committing suicide during a public hearing comes a more gentle and toned down, um, ballad? I do have a soft spot for this tune though.... great beat, good combo of acoustic guitars and bongos. Like most of my musical favorites, it's usually not for the lyrics but the instrumentation. Besides the chorus, I have a really hard time understanding what the Terminator 2's younger brother is saying. "Awake on my airplane.. my skin is bare." Was this song really about taking a picture, or did Northwest lose another poor soul's luggage?

Finally, Ford!

Ford Motor Company hasn't been on my hot list of companies with good taste for advertising. As one of the top advertisers on the planet, I would figure their increased "shots on goal" would result in many more good advertisements. With the exception of their Bold Moves campaign (is that dead yet?), I actually think that they're on the right track.

That said, I love this ad featuring their new Sync by Microsoft technology. Does a great job of making a fun ad that clearly articulates the benefit of the technology.

Tossed Salad and Scrambled Egg Blues

Just got back from Seattle. Very cool place. Many thanks to Kurt, Karl, Sarah, David, Choi, Ben, Jack, Bergen and Spence for taking time to visit.

And thanks to the weather for largely cooperating... got a great view of Mt. Ranier.

Shotpaks: Please Krunk Responsibly

I love learning about innovation in the marketplace, no matter if it's scientific or commercial. I also really enjoy reading about goofy new product ideas. This probably comes from my childhood of watching the silly product parodies from Saturday Night Live (Happy Fun Ball anyone?).

My latest favorite is by a company known as ShotPak. ShotPak vies to do for alcoholism what Flavor Ice did for summertime refreshment. By placing a pre-mixed shot in a small disposable bag, ShotPak hopes to unlock your inner (and much older) Capri Sun consumer.

My favorite part of the whole site is the PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY message. What part of consuming a little baggie of whisky indicates responsible drinking?! Am I to only have one per serving, perhaps with a meal? Or... am I to (responsibly) strap 15 to my chest and become the most popular guy at a tailgate?

Papel-bonanza

This blog has been surprisingly quiet, especially of the remarkable recent run of New England sports. While I am still in another post-World Series contentment coma, I wanted to highlight something that may not be known to those outside the Boston area.

You know the name by now. He's Jonathan Papelbon, Boston's star closer. He's serious on the mound, and his gaze to the plate is unmatched. But, as we've recently found out, he's a total goofbal when he's off the mound. Take a look at the new Charles Riverdance...

Shuffling Toward Ecstasy

(did i really just paraphrase a Sarah McLaughlin album title?)

It's well established that Apple's Ipod has revolutionized the way in which we consume music. (Sorry Hegs and Bergen... it's not the Zune). I figured it was my time for some necessary approbation.

On my daily commute, I've got my Ipod feeding into my car's soundsystem. I recently switched my car Ipod back to my 60 gig one (from my much smaller shuffle), and it's been quite a reunion. Over time, I've accumulated just about 45 gigs on this Ipod. I've got so much music on my Ipod that I don't even know all the stuff I have. This is both a blessing and a curse.

It's a curse because going through my artist/album/song list is about as fun as searching a library by Dewey decimal numbers. The other downside is that, when on shuffle, the randomizing divine hand (not yours, Mr. Jobs) will pick something like Toxic by Britney Spears or songs from The Notebook soundtrack.

The upside, on the other hand, is tremendous. Most of the time, I'll get a golden nugget from my Ipod . . . a song or an artist that I love, but haven't listened to in a long time. It's kind of like seeing one of your best friends from the past at the grocery store... only there's no awkward small talk or disingenuous promises to get together.

That said, my shuffle has inspired a new column idea for this blog.

Here are this week's Ipod Shuffle Golden Nuggets:

Lounge Act by Nirvana - I completely forgot how much I missed Nirvana. This song harkens back to middle-school pseudo-parental defiance. Like most Nirvana songs, I can't really decipher the lyrics. Even upon reading the lyrics in the CD jacket, I still have no idea what they mean. Kobain was quite the enigma. OR, maybe he was just on a lot of drugs. Probably the latter.



Strange Condition by Pete Yorn - Another moody song my a moody songwriter. That is probably a statement of the obvious, but every time I hear a Pete Yorn song, I imagine a guy sitting alone at a bar, choking down some Cutty' and puffing on a red, trying to put his past behind him. Despite the blue tones of his music, he writes some pretty cool songs.




America F*#& Yeah from Team America - One of my favorite comedy anthems of all time. The best part of the song, besides the excessive swearing, is the end, where the singer essentially lists various things about America, to which a chorus exclaims, "F-Yeah!". I love the silence after "Books!"



It's probably not a good thing that I heard this right before getting to work. Let's just hope none of my conversations were peppered with an occasional "F- Yeah!"

Big Boned?

For those who know me, I'm always into finding new and interesting facts from recent scientific research. Here's a good example of one of those studies ...

The New York Times recently ran a story in which a small scale laboratory study showed that mammals could hypothetically turn fat tissue into bone tissue.

For once, Eric Cartman may have had a valid point.

Heavy Metal

Lead.

It’s a substance common in bullets, fishing weighs, and Zeppelins. Due to (1) lax quality control procedures by US companies outsourcing work to China and (2) the abysmal environmental disaster that is China’s manufacturing sector, we can now find lead in toys and even lipstick.

Lead poisoning is serious business. According to WebMD, “Too much lead in the body can cause irreversible problems in growth and development in children, including behavior problems, hearing problems, learning problems, and slowed growth.”

In other words, lead makes us stupid. And potentially obnoxious. Permanently.

Sound familiar? Isn’t this how the rest of the world sees Americans? The “Ugly American” is stereotyped as loud, ignorant, and uncultured... Sometimes sunburned and wearing a fanny-pack. I was once offended by this generalization, but after multiple jaunts across the globe, have realized that, in general, it appears to be true.

Some illustrative Ugly American anecdotes from my domestic and international travels:

• Three 30ish stoner dudes, in Thailand, LOUDLY cursing and discussing during a 2 hour ferry ride how many times they had been hit by cars
• A Minnesota man explaining to his son that the Muslim women from Somalia he had seen at the state fair wore headdresses because they were from Arabia;
• A fraternity brother of mine who had a bad habit of humping statues;
• Me, mistakenly ordering a Danish. In Denmark. (I was 13, sorry.)

(If you have interesting Ugly American anecdotes to share, please comment.)

Let’s face it.

The collective intelligence of Americans fits a wide bell curve with a large standard deviation (nerd words!). We house a great diversity of intellect. And yes, we can be loud and obnoxious. However, I’m beginning to believe that it’s really not our fault that we act in such a way.

We may now be able to blame China.

Does this make me look fat?

For eons, man has been forced to deal with this awkward question. It’s fraught with disaster, and can turn a hot dinner date into night of eating Hot Pockets and watching Cops reruns alone. Finally, we may have an accurate answer.

We’ve all been asked it. The proper answer is always “No,” and this is true for a very clear reason. I don’t think clothing can make a person actually look fat. You either are or you aren’t.

Well, I think it's time to admit that I was wrong. There actually is an article of clothing that can make you look fat. They are termed “babydoll shirts” (photo below), but to me, this pseudo-maternity wear deserves a different title. Pregger shirts.

To women of the world – congratulations. You now have the answer that you were passively looking for.

Irony in Signage

Pred-Locks

So, I've been watching my boy Manny Ramirez as of late, and besides yelling at him to hit the ball, I was giving some thought to his outrageous dreadlocks. Though he's well known for his hitting ability and work ethic, as well as his lackadaisical outfield defense, this guy has first-hand brought back the dreadlock.

His influence goes far and wide. It's true that "Manny" is good at "being Manny," but now we may want to reconsider just what exactly "being Manny" means. Evidently, "being Manny" translates into "sportin some killer dreadlocks."

Or, as I like to call them, pred-locks. Let's face it, while Manny may get credit for the resurgence of the lowly dreadlock, Predator really kicked this style into high gear. It started in mid 1987, with our friend Predator filling the screens as a nefarious time-traveling alien. Little did we know that this angry creature would inspire generations of athletes to come.

Jumping On The Blogwagon

I'll admit it... Lately, I've been impressed by the literary abilities of my buddies Gust Funnel and Kenny Kellogg. Hell, perhaps I've been a little bit jealous. I've been waiting to start a blog of my own for some time, but I don't quite know why I've been waiting. Oh wait, I remember now. I'm lazy.

It's official - I am jumping on the bandwagon (that's me on the far left).

Without further ado, I bring you my blog. As Dutch Evans, I plan to delight and surprise you with a mix of humorous observations as well as musings on business, music, entertainment, sports, and musings. I realize that's a little general, but it's a start.

Anyway, I'll probably post on this thing around 1-2 times per week. Now that I'm on the search for content, I'm sure it will become a regular thing. I hope you enjoy the blog, and feel free to comment or email me at dutch.evans@dutchevans.com.

--Dutch