Never a Lack of Ideas

As a Halloween treat, I'm writing about my favorite ad campaigns of all time. In part 1 , I wrote about my favorite print ad campaign. Today I'll reveal my favorite TV ad. Part 2: My Favorite TV Ad In 1993, Eagle Insurance released what some have called the worst TV commercial ever created. But I call it the best. It's memorable for a lot of reasons: The cheesy writing and acting The ridiculous Eagleman character The fact that Eagle *man* lays an egg When the ad came out, I was often heard around the house saying, "oh, look at those low rates" just like the women at the end of the commercial. I find it just as funny today as I did back then. Some high school students even created a behind the scenes video about the making of this commercial. A few years later, Eagle Insurance embraced the cheesy hit they had on their hands and one-upped themselves with the equally-amazing Eaglewoman commercial . It starred Chicago radio personality Mancow Muller — I...

On each of the previous three Halloweens, I've posted my list of the best brands in the United States ( part 1 , part 2 , part 3 ). This Halloween, I'm switching it up a bit: I'm publishing a four-part series of my favorite advertising campaigns of all time. Over the next three days, I'll post my favorite: Print campaign TV campaign Digital campaign Integrated campaign Part 1: My Favorite Print Ads In the 1990s, I fell in love with the Absolut Vodka ads I would see in our family's subscription to Sports Illustrated. They were simultaneously beautiful and witty. They inspired me to study marketing and graphic design, and ultimately choose to make this my profession. It turns out I'm not the only one who loves these ads. There are several fan sites devoted to Absolut print ads. My favorite is AbsolutAd.com . I've spent a lot of time browsing on the site and I never get bored. The site takes me back to when I was a kid, dreaming of the advertising i...

Happy Halloween For the past two Halloweens, I have presented my lists of the top ten and next ten brands in the United States. I would remove Angry Birds from the list (what a difference a year makes!), but I'd keep everything else the same. My previous posts describe my criteria for these lists. So, in my final installment of this series, I give you my list of top brands #21-25: 21. Corona — There are thousands of brands of beer, but the one that stands out most makes us think of sitting on a beach every time a lime is placed inside one. 22. Tostitos — Go ahead, try to name another brand of tortilla chip. There's a party in every bag. 23. Christian Louboutin — There's only one brand of shoe recognizable simply by its red sole. Louboutin even has a trademark on the red sole in the US. 24. Tiffany & Co. — Every woman wants a gift in the little blue box, and every marketer marvels at the margins Tiffany brings in compared to its competitors. 25. Linked...

Best Brands in the Land Happy Halloween! In what will hopefully become an annual tradition, I present to you my list of the top ten brands in the United States. To create this list, I relied heavily upon my opinion of the general perception of each brand versus its competitors, and how much of a premium the brand can charge because of that perception. I didn't get hung up on revenue data or market share numbers — I just went with what I see and hear every day and threw in my own opinion from a marketer's point of view. Here's my list, starting with the best brand in the land: Victoria's Secret — The brand became a household name by charging a premium for products that very few people see when worn; and then turned that brand equity into a complete line of clothing. Google — Do you use any other search engine? I'll bet you've even used the word "Google" as a verb. Apple — The iPod, iTunes, and iPhone have defined their categories. Facebook — The d...