2009-01-09

Life-cycle of Banda and the Mexican Fisherman

Banda is born in a beautiful village in the paradise, in a traditional home overlooking the paddy-fields and the mountains in the distance.

Banda attends school in the nearby town.

He comes to Colombo for higher education.

A few years later, he finds himself in the West, chasing the “American” dream or its equivalent.

A yuppie, with a great job, caught-up in the rat-race.

Passport. Family. House. Car. Kids.

And the time passes by. Kids grow up and they leave home as Banda retires.

He’s tired of the hustle and bustle and comes back home to Sri Lanka seeking serendipity in his old-age.

And decides to spend a quiet, retired life, away from it all.

Banda spends his hard-earned dollars to buy a plot of land in a beautiful village and builds a traditional house, overlooking the paddy-fields and the mountains in the distance.

2009-01-07

Palestine needs a Gandhi, Murdoch and a good Ad Agency

Israel invades Palestine and the whole world watches. 75% of the country plunges in to darkness – there is no electricity, no running water and there is no medicine. Tanks roll in, screams of agony fill the air, silencing the Israeli air attacks. Blood splatters paint the landscape while the tears of women and children soak the land. No one sees and no one hears the cries for help. No one seems to hear the screams of pain. There are hundreds of innocent Palestine civilians killed everyday, but no one cares.

The World is quiet. The World is gone deaf and it’s gone blind. Deep within, it knows the bitter truth, but no-one utters a single word against Israel and it’s atrocities. In the heartland of the Arab World – Saudi Arabia – life goes on as usual and no one bothers. Sydney protests, Riyadh doesn’t. Wonder why?

Why Not?

“This is not an aggression or an invasion; this is democracy defeating terrorism. This is “peace-loving” Israel liberating innocent Palestine civilians from the grips of terror. This is Israel helping Palestine. This is Israel neutralising terror that ruins the peaceful daily life of Palestine and Israel. This is the beginning of the end of horror and violence.” Mark Regev tells the world on Al Jazeera and the world believes...

Israeli PR machinery has bent the world opinion and Tzipi Livni has charmed Hosny Mubarak.

I have always admired the Israelis in the PR Tactics, but this is a classic lesson in pure-and-simple Media Manipulation. Brain-washing the world, at its best. With careful scheming and manipulation, Israel has always preconditioned the world opinion to accept every forthcoming aggression – and they have always successfully managed to project themselves as the good-guys.

The World Opinion matters, and Palestinians should learn from the Israelis. Palestine – which is getting raped in its own bedroom while the parents are watching – needs to grow up and fight the war, Israeli style.

They need to win the fight.

Palestine, which is the rightful owner of the territory, is presented to the world by the Jewish PR Machine as a primitive, barbaric, stone-age community ruled by a group of terrorists that disturb the world peace. This image needs to be changed, and the change must begin now. Palestine should capitalise on its wealthy “refugees” who are running some successful businesses around the world, they must begin to fight the media battle. Average Palestinians should do what the average Jews do – invade the digital frontier – Facebook, flickr and Blogger style.

Change the perception, and the world will be on your side.

Palestine has one strength that Israel doesn’t possess: resilience. But they lack the most important ingredient: strategy.

Palestine needs a good advertising agency on their side. To define the brand (starting from, err, is Palestine a country?), to set the objectives and to come up with a strategy and a communication plan that includes important lessons learnt from Israel.

They need to believe in the power of PR and Advertising. They need to believe that the ‘image’ is everything.

They need to push Hamas to the back-seat – if not out of the car altogether – and get a Gandhi in the driving seat. They need a Rupert Murdoch to build the image and get the world on their side – so that they could fight their fight, fair and square – and dream of a free Palestine.

2009-01-01

Top 100 Global Brands of 2008 and their Slogans

Here’s a look at the Top 100 Global Brands last year. Compiled by BusinessWeek and Interbrand, the Top 100 includes only brands, not parent companies – unlike the Sri Lankan way of doing things. Procter & Gamble does not show up on the list, but Gillette does – something our marketing guru’s could take a note of, when they think of naming “Lowe LDB” or “BOI” a Superbrand next time.
“When ranking the value of the Best Global Brands, Interbrand evaluates brand value in the same way any other corporate asset is valued – on the basis of how much it is likely to earn for the company in the future. Interbrand uses a combination of analysts’ projections, company financial documents, and its own qualitative and quantitative analysis to arrive at a net present value of those earnings. The brand values are based on data collected during the 12 months prior to June 30, 2008. This means that more recent developments, including the troubles at Merrill Lynch and AIG, are not factored into the brand valuations...” explains the BusinessWeek website.
Interestingly, Apple has become a bigger brand than Sony, Pepsi and Nescafé. Google rises while Yahoo falls even behind Amazon, some of the big brands such as Pizza Hut, Kraft, Kodak, Nissan, LG and Levis fall out of the Top 100 list altogether. H&M, the Swedish purveyor of affordable chic continues to climb just like Apple, Google and Nintendo in 2008.
I have done a bit of research to add their marketing slogans to the list – but one must keep in mind that the slogans may change from market to market, or from time to time. IBM, for example, no longer has a slogan, but, they used “Solutions for a Small Planet” at the time I was handling their brand in the Middle East. Starbucks still does not have one, and they do not need one since they have very little, or almost zero, visibility in advertising. The big fashion brands and sports car brands such as Prada and Ferrari could make a statement without speaking a word – that’s why I couldn’t find a slogan I suppose.
I have also had the good fortune to creatively contribute to at least 20 out of the 100 Best Global Brands at one time or the other in my advertising career, a fact that brings a smile to my face.


TOP 100 GLOBAL BRANDS OF 2008
Rank, Brand, Brand Value in US$ Millions, Country of Origin and Most Common/Most Recent Slogan.


1Coca-Cola66,667USLive on the Coke Side of Life.
2IBM59,031USSolutions for a Small Planet.
3Microsoft59,007USYour potential. Our passion.
4GE53,086USImagination at Work.
5Nokia35,942FinlandConnecting People.
6Toyota34,050JapanMoving Forward.
7Intel31,261USLeap Ahead.
8McDonald's31,049USI’m lovin’ it.
9Disney29,251USWhere Dreams Come True.
10Google25,590US
11Mercedes-Benz25,577GermanyThe Future of the Automobile.
12Hewlett-Packard23,509USInvent.
13BMW23,298GermanyThe Ultimate Driving Machine.
14Gillette22,069USThe Best a Man Can Get.
15American Express21,940USDo More.
16Louis Vuitton21,602FranceThe Spirit of Travel. (Epileather)
17Cisco21,306USThis is the power of the network. Now.
18Marlboro21,300USCome to Marlboro Country.
19Citi20,174USThe Citi Never Sleeps.
20Honda19,079JapanThe Power of Dreams.
21Samsung17,689S. KoreaEveryone’s Invited.
22H&M13,840Sweden
23Oracle13,831USCan’t Break It, Can’t Break In.
24Apple13,724USThink Different.
25Sony13,583JapanIt’s a Sony.
26Pepsi13,249USThe Choice of the New Generation.
27HSBC13,143UKThe World’s Local Bank.
28Nescafé13,055SwitzerlandAwaken Your Senses.
29Nike12,672USJust Do It.
30UPS12,621USDeliver More.
31SAP12,228GermanyThe Best-run e-Businesses Run SAP.
32Dell11,695USPurely You.
33Budweiser11,438USThe King of Beers. (Budweiser. True)
34Merrill Lynch11,399USis Bullish on America/Ask Merrill.
35Ikea10,913USMake a House a Home.
36Canon10,876JapanImage Anywhere.
37JPMorgan10,773USYour Choice. Your Chase.
38Goldman Sachs10,331USOur Client’s Interest Always Comes First.
39Kellogg’s9,710USThey’re Great!
40Nintendo8,772JapanWho are you?
41UBS8,740SwitzerlandYou & Us.
42Morgan Stanley8,696USOne Client at a Time.
43Philips8,325NetherlandsSense and Simplicity.
44Thompson Reuters8,313UKFor People in the Know.
45Gucci8,254ItalyQuality is Remembered Long After the Price is Forgotten.
46eBay7,991USThe Power of All of Us.
47Accenture7,948BermudaHigh Performance, Delivered.
48Siemens7,943GermanyBe Inspired.
49Ford7,896USFord. Drive One.
50Harley-Davidson7,609USThe Legend Rolls On…
51L’Oreal7,508FranceBecause you’re worth it.
52MTV7,193USThink MTV.
53Volkswagen7,047GermanyDrivers wanted.
54AIG7,022USThe Strength to Be There.
55AXA7,001FranceBe Life Confident.
56Heinz6,646US57 Varieties. (Mine’s gotta have Heinz.)
57Colgate6,437USThe Colgate Ring of Confidence.
58Amazon.com6,434USA Real Company in a Virtual World.
59Xerox6,393USThe Digital Document Company.
60Chanel6,355FranceShare the Fantasy.
61Wrigley’s6,105USDouble Your Pleasure.
62Zara5,955SpainWe Have a Dream.
63Nestle5,592SwitzerlandGood Food. Good Life.
64KFC5,582USFinger Lickin’ Good.
65Yahoo!5,496USDo you Yahoo?
66Danone5,408FranceA Little Everyday Goes a Long, Long Way.
67Audi5,407GermanyVorsprung Durch Technik.
68Caterpillar5,288USEarthmoving Solutions for Today’s Challenges.
69Avon5,264USLet’s Talk.
70adidas5,072GermanyImpossible is Nothing.
71Rolex4,956SwitzerlandPerpetual spirit.
72Hyundai4,846S. KoreaDrive your way.
73BlackBerry4,802CanadaLife on BlackBerry.
74Kleenex4,636USIt’s time to Let it Out.
75Porsche4,603GermanyThere is No Substitute.
76Hermés4,575France
77Gap4,357USFor Every Generation, There is a GAP.
78Panasonic4,281JapanJust Slightly Ahead of Our Time.
79Cartier4,236FranceThe Jeweller of Kings.
80Tiffany & Co.4,208USAmerica’s House of Design since 1837.
81Pizza Hut4,097USGreat Pizzas. Great Times.
82Allianz4,033FranceFinancial Solutions from A to Z.
83Moet & Chandon3,951FranceL’esprit Mo? & Chandon.
84BP3,911UKBeyond Petroleum.
85Starbucks3,879US
86ING3,768NetherlandsSaving Feels Good.
87Motorola3,721USIntelligence Everywhere.
88Duracell3,682USLasts Longer, Much Longer.
89Smirnoff3,590UKThere’s Vodka and Then There’s Smirnoff.
90Lexus3,588JapanPursuit of Perfection.
91Prada3,585Italy
92Johnson & Johnson3,582US
93Ferrari3,527Italy
94Armani3,526ItalyDesigns for the Face.
95Hennessy3,513FranceThe World’s largest stock of Eaux-de-vie.
96Marriott3,502USRevive.
97Shell3,471NetherlandsYou can be Sure of Shell.
98Nivea3,401GermanyBeauty is…
99FedEx3,359USThe World On Time.
100Visa3,338USLife Takes Visa.

Data: Interbrand, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, BusinessWeek