Former Blog of Eric S. Townsend » flashback series

Atlantic Time Capsule – Branding at its Best

etownsend — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:55:06 +0000

looking for a great example of how branding helps to build a warm, fuzzy feeling for your organization that then drives sales? take a look at the atlantic records time capsule, a product from one of the oldest music labels in the world. the production and promotional effort represents five years of dedication from serious music enthusiasts — which can be seen and felt readily in the product’s attention to detail, quality and nostalgia. if only every product received such focus and dedication! behind all of this is a sentiment from legendary founder, ahmet ertegun: “we started atlantic simply because we wanted to sign a few artists whose music we liked, and make the kind of records that we would want to buy.”

Flashback Series: 1960s Electrolux

etownsend — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 04:20:32 +0000

in the 1960s, the vaccum company electrolux featured the slogan “nothing sucks like an electrolux” in their advertising. while americans assumed it was a brand blunder from a scandanavian manufacturer, electrolux knew what sucks meant in american language and intended for the ads to generate extra attention for it. got me thinking about eye-catching (though also low brow) it would be if current productss were marketed in a similar fashion. how about “who blows more than craftsman?” for a leaf blower, or “start your day with our wurst” for hillshire farms?

click to enlarge

Sloppy That Copycat

etownsend — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:04:59 +0000

i’ve been in the music industry for over 15 years. just saw a facebook ad that basically followed this tired marketing tease – “do you like (insert known musical act here), then you’re gonna love (insert unknown musical act here).” um, why don’t i just listen to the orginators a little while longer and pass on the copycats? shouldn’t there be payments made to the original act each time someone leverages their brand for their benefit? obviously, the original created something of such great value that we are still talking about them today, using their music as muse, pointing to them to help sell records, etc. if there is something in play that i’m overlooking, then please let me know.

Flashback Series: 1979 Sony Walkman

etownsend — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:02:49 +0000

a friend of mine posted a link to a bbc article on a 13-year old boy who swapped his 2009 ipod for a 1979 sony walkman. the walkman wasn’t a complete loser in the teen’s opinion – at least not across the board. the boy preferred the dual headphone jack and quick way to plug it into a socket to save battery. he wasn’t wild about the clunkiness.

Flashback Series: 1971 Ford Pinto Advertising

etownsend — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:54:31 +0000

my grandmother drove a ford pinto – quite possibly the ugliest car ever made. but any loss of cool points i suffered while being carted around in this beast pales in comparison to how ford must have felt when they first launched in the brazilian market. as it turns out, pinto is brazilian slang for tiny male genitals! look it up, i’m not busting balls here (no pun intended). so how did ford reverse this embarrassment? they renamed the line corcel – which translates into horse. click on for subsequent innuendos in the pinto advertising.

click to enlarge

so what kind of advertising copy did ford use in enticing customers with the pinto – a.k.a. tiny male genitals?

“it’ll give you a nice, satisfied feeling.”

“…one sixth as many lubes.”

“designed to last longer. it has strong, beefy parts…”

Flashback Series: Kaleidoscopes

etownsend — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:52:00 +0000

here’s a blast from the past – kaleidoscopes! i stumbled upon an interesting page on how to photograph the inside of a kaleidoscope. a life-long kaleidoscope maker shares his secrets in a step-by-step fashion. enjoy!

flashback series: 1966 pepsi advertising

etownsend — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:22:15 +0000

pepsi originally launched a series of ads with the slogan “come alive with the pepsi generation.” little did they know, the chinese transalation was “pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave.” wow – that’s some powerful stuff right there! in the mid 1960s, pepsi switched to “come alive! you’re in the pepsi generation!” that’s what you see featured in this classic ad. you have to love the drive-up vending machine!

click to enlarge

flashback series: 1925 chrysler ads

etownsend — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:06:09 +0000

my fiancee owns a chrysler – the crossfire. i once owned a turismo that i jokingly referred to as my tri-turbo turismo. my grandmother owned one of those ugly chrysler sedans. the fact is that many of us have put our faith in the brand, even if only for a short period of time. now, chrysler is once again in trouble. this time, it could be the beginning of the end for a brand that began in 1925.

: 1925 chrysler advertising

: 1925 chrysler advertising

things begin with promises of luxury and speed – qualities no longer associated with the company. losing that competitive edge will kill a brand. while chrysler made progress in the last decade, the forthcoming partnership with fiat and filing for chapter 11 won’t help to recapture its original lustre.

here are my favorite excerpts from these ads:

“chrysler model numbers mean miles per hour.” (um, i don’t think the clunky 300 of today is capable of its lofty name).

“nimbly outdistancing the fastest and finest.”

“supreme motor luxury.”

“road-ability and economy that cannot be enjoyed elsewhere at any price.”

flashback series: led zeppelin in wheaton md?

etownsend — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:35:42 +0000

saw a strange story in the washington post that i thought i’d highlight here for those who want to check it out. the article talks about a concert that led zeppelin may or may not have performed in wheaton md on the night of richard nixon’s first inauguration (jan 20, 1969). no, i wasn’t even born yet – but that won’t stop me from commenting on this thread! read the article here (you may need to create a profile if you don’t already have one with them), but consider the source of the information. i don’t mean the post (because this certainly is an interesting storyline to trace) but instead the “eyewitness accounts” of the concert.

: did led zeppelin play wheaton md?

so, what do i mean by “the source of the information?”

digging deeper into the details – one guy who claims to have attended the concert is a hard-core zep collector in faux snakeskin boots. another is a liquor salesman who totes around a bag with chuck taylors he wore that night (um, yikes – that was 40 years ago!). still another is a public relations professional – it’s their job to hype things beyond reality!

a few facts here – no ticket stubs, posters, pictures or news clippings of the gig are known to exist. messages sent through led zeppelin representatives have yielded no response. the band’s former touring manager, Richard Cole, does not recall the wheaton md show. sharon ward ellis, the former director of the youth center where the concert supposedly took place, can recall telling Iggy Pop to stop smearing peanut butter on his chest during his wheaton concert – but she has no recollection of led zeppelin. former teen center fan ruth lynn youngworth has a scrapbook that documents scores of concerts from 1967 to 1972. curiously, the log does not include the wheaton led zeppelin show.

flashback series: 1979 apple ad

etownsend — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:30:30 +0000

this post is great for a few laughs. check out apple’s ad from 1979 (um, can you say 30th anniversary?). it instructs customers “how to buy a personal computer.” man, some things have certainly changed – but others remain almost exactly the same. love that aged, new yorker magazine look. don’t think this would work on today’s yuppies and trend setters. not sure it even worked on yesterday’s version of same. the copy is also a real treat. peoples’ heads would explode if they saw that many words on an apple ad today and were actually forced to READ!

: apple ad / 1979

here are some of my favorite excerpts:

“thousands of people have discovered the apple computer…they’re using it for financial management, complex problem solving – and just plain fun.”

“you can use your apple to control your home environment, and to invent an unlimited number of sound and action video games.”

“you don’t want to be limited by pre-programmed cartridges…you’ll want a computer that you can also program yourself.”

“visit your local apple dealer. we’ll give you his name and address when you call.”

“apple plugs into any standard tv using an inexpensive modulator (not included).”