10:10 Downing Street

Hats off to 10:10 for their latest and possibly highest profile signing to-date to the 10:10 campaign… Not just 10 Downing Street (who had already signed up), but the whole of central UK government making a pledge to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.  From their own press release, ” A 10% cut [...]

How to be Independent leading up to the Election

UK newspaper The Independent has been running a great campaign during this week leading up to today’s UK Election. At Brighton station Andy B picked up a fantastic example of great copywriting and topical targeting in their giveaway ‘slimmed down’ version of the newspaper, designed to give people the flavour of the full £1 a [...]

Which crisps get your vote?

The mainstream political parties in the UK have been moving closer to one other for a while, and now seems that crisp brands are too. Like a New Labour focus group ‘REAL Election Crisps’ and ‘Tyrrell’s Political Potato Chips’ are both inviting us to vote for their winning flavours. Just like the Lib Dems, there [...]

Clear marketing ticks the box, whether it is for soap powder or ‘soap boxes’

I’ve never been so captured by an election. It’s certainly not to do with the choice on offer. No, it’s the race rather than the participants that is fascinating me. But what relevance does this have to branding and marketing? An interesting parallel between the world of consumer marketing and the election was drawn last [...]

Posted on Apr 22nd 2010 by · Permalink · 2 Comments
In: Brand communications, Viewpoints · Tags: 

Your choice but there’s no REAL difference

More and more brands are using the run up to the election to send out witty tactical messages, earning consumer brownie-points at a time of political disillusionment. A few weeks back I blogged about Magners Cider and their “Same again Darling” campaign, one of the many voices that resulted in a government U-Turn on the [...]

Future of cider looks Rosie for revolting drinkers

The Conservative Party has lent weight to campaigns by Magners Cider, Westcountry band the Wurzels and 50,000 cider devotees on Facebook forcing the government to back down on its controversial cider tax for the UK (see our previous post on this). The 10 per cent rise in duty on cider will be reversed in June [...]

It’s no joke: April Fools campaigns can drive sales

BMW’s recent Political Roundel Attachment Tag advert in the UK offers drivers the ability to change their car badge to reflect the colour of their political party. The blurb said: ‘for more information write to http://www.uwebeanhadde@bmw.co.uk ‘…. It took sometime for the penny to drop. Perhaps I’m just particularly gullible, perhaps I was caught off [...]

Magners is inspired whilst cider drinkers are revolting

Powerful stuff cider, it can start revolutions and change the world. King Richard III and the 1524 Cider Rebellion pitted the classes in a blood thirsty battle. The new millennium made it acceptable for grown men to drink it over ice. And now, following last week’s Budget announcement of a 10% per cent tax hike [...]