R.I.P. Michael Jackson ...

Yesterday the King of Pop passed away at he age of 50. I believe he will be trully missed from both the new generation and elder fans but is Celebrity brand equity raising after death? Marylin Monroe, Marlon Brando, James Dean still kept selling after their death and companies took advantage of those profits !!

Can you imagine how much the red jacket of Michael Jackson he wore on his Beat it music video will cost in an auction ? (and other personal belongings...)

At least his music will stay precious... in the hearts of fans !!

Brand loyalty ... after death !!!

DID YOU KNEW ?

Brand loyalty has gone too far as many Harley Davidson fans (or addicts ?) chose to be buried in their Harley Davidson caskets when they pass away or in their Harley Davidson helmets ... !!

I guess even funerals may have a Product Placenent or Sponsorship

;-P

Something to Calm you down ....

It seems after Red Bull consumers need to take a break and a relaxation drink!! this new "relaxing drink" (i suppose it works as a sedative ...) called Drank promises to calm you down ... something like a nirvana mood ! The drink's name has its roots in hip hop as Purple drank is slang for a potentially fatal concoction !! Critics of Drank have argued that the product glorifies drug culture while the company denies that !!

Drink at your own Risk !! ;-P

Religion, the Pontiff and ... Product placement !!

Does the Pope wear Prada ?

It seems that companies find the image of the Pope a very strong one to reinforce their brand's image as the Pontiff has a strong and big number of loyal followers... !!

In 2006 the Pope was spoted to wear specific brands of Serengeti-brand sunglasses , holding an Apple ipod and red Prada shoes ! The Pope as a spiritual leader with more than 1 billion Catholics all over the World seems to work better than Celebrity endorsements ! Companies donate products in the hope that the Pontiff will use them (in public) for the shake of Product Placement !!

Holy(stic Marketing or Unethical practice ?)

Well the answer is ... yours to make !! ;-P

Branding is ... skin deep !!

Looking for a different place to put your ads?

Well it seems that branded tattoos are the latest trend !!

(I wonder if they got paid to have a branded tattoo !! )

Enjoy (or hate ...) some branded flesh !!

Gremlins 3 in 2010 ?

Rumor has it for a Gremlins 3 movie to be released 20 years after the second Gremlins movie was released in 1990 ! Is Steven Spielberg behind this ? or just another talk of the town ....

Meanwhile enjoy this commercial of BT (British Telecom) a good example of ...

Advertainment !!

The young and the restless !!

It was a few years ago when La Sapienza University in Rome did a research were kids as young as 3 years old were able to Identify brands !! Now The University of Amsterdam investigated the brand awareness of kids in a similar experiment. What they did is that they showed to 196 kids aged between 2-8 year olds 12 brands and found out that 2-3 year-old kids recognized 8 out of 12 brands !! The results showed that exposure to television was significantly related to the brand awareness of even the youngest children... or should I say consumers !!