A-ols and Chocolate Cake

The holidays are coming. We all need to work out less, turn off the music, eat more and get grumpy. Crap! That was wrong. I'm teasing! We need to work out, play that funky music, eat cake, sleep more and be merry!


Here is a quick and simple workout for those among us who are far too addicted to social media.


Here are a pair of shoes I think I need for christmas. Here is what the corporate site has to say about them and all their technology glories. But more frustrating than that is the corporate video that states, "Make your boobs jealous of your butt..." [gasp, gasp!!!] Is this really corporate America? This piece makes me want to work for Reebok. Reebok is making a jump at crossing into lust for the love of a tennis shoe. Nicely done. These are sweet, sexy, feminine and powerful ads that seem to say, "Have it all, ladies. Then hit the fridge in your undies and finish the chocolate cake. You deserve it..."

In the opposite direction of rebranding efforts that may sink the ship, check out AOL. AOL to Aol. Tell the truth. Does anyone else automatically read the word, "A-hole" when they see the new logo? To me, I wonder why the little guys around the marketing table didn't question each other as they phonetically said the new line outloud. In a story linked above The New York Times quoted Sam Wilson, managing director at Wolff Olins New York; the firm designated at helping turn around AOL's sinking customer sales, as saying, “It’s not like there’s bad feeling toward AOL,"

Well, maybe not yet old Sammy boy, but then again, AOL hasn't called it's subscribers a bunch of assholes before. Ouch.




Those of us in the marketing field understand that older technology icons have a heavy burden to carry; to make sure they can compete with the younger, hipper, fresher crowd of talent. And we also know that more and more vehicles for acquiring a traditional paid service is being invented - and mass distributed - every day, so there are real problems for AOL to consider when making a plight to stay alive and kicking. But I don't think the answer is found in a newly-placed period or the uncapitalizing of a few letters in a simple logo.


I'm not suggesting it's a rather obvious onomatopoeia-played ad campaign, but for the love of pete, some things don't need to change just for the sake of changing. Madonna has stayed Madonna for like, 159 years now or something and she is still Madonna...





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