read more: on branding

“It’s a mistake to think the consumer cares as much about your brand as you do. They may spend 2 seconds of their day thinking about you, so you have to nail it in the fewest words possible, and be relentlessly consistent.”
- Barney Waters from K-Swiss, in Hypebeast interview of three street wear brands

i actually use mailchimp

Sad it's all over? No, I'm not talking about the holidays. I'm talking about the end of Serial. While Jay may have finally stepped forward to give his account, our Thursdays are missing the most popular podcast of time, brought to you by MailChimp.

I loved Serial as a fan of podcasts, and while I initially cringed every time I heard "MailKimp," the marketing geek inside me was fascinated by their lucky break. They actually managed to become part of the story of Serial.

But just how did MailChimp's 19 second ad get to be "the official sponsor of engrossing teenage murder sagas everywhere?" (@JeffLoveless.) Here's a little case study I wrote up.

*I actually created the graphic in early December before the finale so the numbers are already out of date. 

not lovin' it

[Not.]

Rumor has it McDonald's will be launching a new campaign "Lovin' Beats Hatin'." I get where they are coming from, using this as a way to build on the "I'm lovin' it" campaign (and they say that slogan will stay around.) I can hear that "da-da da da da" refrain in my head and have a habit of saying "I'm lovin' " despite it being quite a while since my last Big Mac, so it seems the campaign was successful. I'm not sure that "Lovin' Beats Hatin' " is the right way to go, however.

I'm not a McDonald's fan, so maybe I'm in the minority, but I think this butts up against something that should be avoided in advertising- saying what you don't want people to think.

McDonald's knows they face a myriad of criticisms- charges that they are causing a childhood obesity epidemic, Super Size Me, being the focus of the fast food workers unionization movement, pink slime, and the list goes on. So should McDonald's encourage loving over hating? Or does it just feel like Mickey D is asking people to not hate them?