Top global brand ranking changes 2000-2019 [Infographic]

Check out this amazing infographic of the top global brand rankings from 2000 to 2019 released by Interbrand. You can watch the top list go from global brands like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, Intel and good ol’ Nokia to the rise of some small startups you may have heard called Apple, Google, and Facebook.

Any surprises? Any nostalgia?

 

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More Advertising Leading to More E-Cigarette Use Among Teens

E-cigarettes - Vaping by Teens

Did you know that almost 7 in 10 middle and high school students are exposed to e-cigarette ads. E-cigarettes are now the most popular tobacco product among children. E-cigarette advertising dollars have risen from $6.4 million in 2011 to $115 million in 2014. In high school the use of e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days have gone from 1.5% to 13.4% during that timeframe.

A 2015 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that teens who saw a e-cigarettes ad on TV were 43% more likely to say they would try e-cigarettes than were teens who did not see the ads.

“It is unacceptable that e-cigarette advertising remains unrestricted,” American Heart Assn. Chief Executive Nancy Brown said in a statement. “Kids are encountering these ads virtually everywhere – in stores, online, in newspapers and magazines, and on television and in movies. And the sad truth is, it’s working.”

“The U.S. Surgeon General has found that tobacco and nicotine are not safe, and nicotine negatively impacts adolescent brain development and has been associated with lasting cognitive and behavioral impairments, including effects on working memory and attention in youth.”

E-cigarette Teen Use - Advertising

In a survey of 41,551 high school students in 377 schools around the country, 8th and 10th graders were twice as likely to have used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days then regular cigarettes. Not only do these e-cigarettes come in fun flavors like cotton candy and apple pie, it’s popularity may have been spurred by popular perception among teens that e-cigarettes do not harm their health. For example among 8th graders, only 15% viewed e-cigarettes to be harmful for them versus 62% believed regular cigarettes had harmful effects.

E-cigarette advertising is still not regulated. This has to change.

Everyone should be mindful that that e-cigarettes are very prevalent both in high school and in middle school. E-cigarettes do not leave the smell of “smoke” thus it would be easy for parents to be unaware of it’s use by their children. It is also important that parents educate their children on how harmful nicotine is to their brain development.

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Bud Light says “Perfect Beer for Removing ‘No’ from your Vocabulary”

Budlight Upforwhatever No

Bud light has put a new message on their bud light bottles. The message “The perfect beer for removing ‘No’ from your vocabulary for the night… The perfect beer for whatever happens”.

Some questions immediately off the bat.

  1. Who in the right mind would come up with this horrible message?
  2. Who in the right mind would approve of this campaign?

With all the horrible things associated with dumb and dangerous things done while under the influence, this seems to be a really bad message asking for rebuttals, retaliations and social commentary.

And so it has begun.

Under the hashtag #UpForWhatever in reddit, twitter and other social forums, there’s been quite a backlash for this campaign around the topics of drunk driving and about rape.

Your thoughts?

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Woman Empowerment Advertising: Authentic or Trendy?

Woman Empowerment Advertising

Women empowerment advertisements

  • Have you seen a woman empowerment advertisement yet?
  • Did it make you feel good?
  • Did you remember who made those videos?

Ever since Dove’s Real Beauty campaign reeled in great viral success, numerous powerhouse feminine care companies have started to focus their advertising on boosting the confidence of their consumers.

Rather than focusing on their products, ads have increasingly focused on a feel-good message in the hopes of lifting their brand image. It’s been a delicate balance of communicating their desire to preach true beauty and power, while still wanting to promote their beauty products. Some have found success, others have been accused of not being authentic.

I think some of these ads carry very good messages. Others are just trying too hard to jump on the bandwagon. Other’s take the message just to far.

  • What are your thoughts on following videos?
  • Hit the mark? or trying too hard to capitalize on the newest trend?

Labels Against Women | #ShineStrong Pantene

Focused on how men and women are labelled differently even while doing the exact same thing.

Not Sorry | #ShineStrong Pantene

I honestly do not like this video. Yes, people should not feel sorry out of being belittled or feeling inadequate or simply because of one’s gender, but the message comes on too strong and a little over the top. The first two examples seem ok, but then soon it seems like it is saying you should never be sorry for anything even for inconveniencing others. Yes, be strong and confident, but I feel one should never lose their sense of humility and sensitivity towards others.

Inspire Her Mind | Verizon Commercial

Very cool video. Though not all the things the “mom” says in this video are bad. I believe there are gender specific ways one should treat a boy or a girl. However I do like the overall message of being careful not to suppress some passion or love (even in ways you didn’t realize) such as science or math simply because your child is a girl. Great video.

Dove “Patches”

This video has been criticize quite a bit as people felt that it makes woman look gullible and it can easily be guessed that they could handpick the best responses. What do you think? Regardless, it has garnered nearly 21 million views.

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Mobile Internet Advertising Surges Past TV Media Spend

Mobile Internet Ad RevenueFor the first time in 2013, US internet advertising revenue has surpassed broadcast television advertising revenue.

Online ad sales in the US went up 17% to $42.8 billion according to data by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Broadcast Television came in second at $40.1 million. However television as a whole leads at a fairly wide margin if you combined the revenue totals of both broadcast and cable.

Mobile Advertising Revenue Continues to Rise

Contributing to this growth is the rapid rise of mobile advertising. In 2013, revenue has grown more than double to $7.1 billion. It is the third year in a row that the mobile ad space has shown triple-digit growth.

“The news that interactive has outperformed broadcast television should come as no surprise,” said Randall Rothenberg, CEO of IAB, in a press release. “It speaks to the power that digital screens have in reaching and engaging audiences.”

Google and Facebook together account for two-thirds of the all mobile global spend.

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P&G Thank You, Mom, Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games TV Spot

Thank You Mom, Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games

Enjoy this spot from Proctor & Gamble called “Thank You, Mom”.

This is a feel-good, tear-filling spot created for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The video speaks of athletes practicing, falling and getting back up again, with the encouragement and faithfulness of mom. Just watch it.

If you like it, please share the video using the facebook & google plus buttons on the left.

Enjoy!

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Westjet Christmas Surprise Video

Westjet Christmas Surprise - Child

Westjet Surprises Travelers with Christmas Gifts

WestJet, a Canadian Airline created this sweet christmas surprise video that will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face. Not only is this an incredible way to build a great brand and promote a name, they were able to make this Christmas time, a wonderful memory for all the travelers that were involved.

WestJet created a fun way to ask their travelers what was on their wishlist. Then during their flight, more than 150 WestJet employees ran around, purchased these gifts, wrapped them and delivered them at baggage claim.

This is the type of clean cut advertising I can get on board with. Pun intended.

Westjet Christmas Surprise Video

Westjet Christmas Surprise Bloopers

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The Power of Words Changes Eating Behavior

Restaurant Food Marketing Picture
a small pad thai please..??

The Power of Words to Influence Behavior

Ever wonder why a medium soda at Jack in the box soda is a size of a tub and why Starbucks insists calling it’s small drink a tall?

Well here is something to chew on. A new study from the Cornell Food Brand Lab found that simply calling the same portion of spaghetti “double-size” caused the diners to eat considerably less. The group thinking they were eating double-sized meals left 10x as much food leftover. Yes, just the IDEA that they were eating a large portion made them eat less! (Some diet strategy gem is here somewhere…)

Words, especially those found in advertising, can be powerful in shaping our behavior. Another finding showed that drinkers who thought the wine they were given was expensive, thought that it tasted better then when they thought it was inexpensive.

Whether in advertising, branding, or simply creating product names, words can be a powerful influencer of consumer behavior. You may be eating more simply because the portion is described as “small”. Another way this manifests itself in the restaurant world, is the increasingly high price tag coupled with the ridiculous large portions that should feed a small family. Yet marketers know, if they can set the expectation, then people would come to think it is normal to expect large quantities and eat larger portions.

  • Know of any “odd” product size names?
  •  Does a “tall” instead of a “small” at starbucks make you feel you are getting more for your money?
  • Can anyone guess where that picture of pad thai is from?
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Product Placement: A Reflection of Reality or Sneaky Advertising?

TV Product Placement Advertising - Subliminal

Product Placement: Reality or Sneaky Advertising?

Love it or hate it, product placement in television, movies, music videos and even Broadway plays is here to stay. Product placement is the art and science of getting a company’s brand featured in a popular movie or television series with the implied endorsement that goes along with the placement. Broadcasting & Cable reported that two-thirds of advertisers use product placement as part of their marketing plans, most of which (80 percent) is used in television, according to an Association of National Advertisers survey. With this proliferation of products in the media, it’s difficult to know just how such use of products in media affects the general public.

The Best and the Worst of Product Placement

Opponents of product placement contend that this practice is unfairly influencing the American buying public. However, not all product placement in movies and television is divisive. Some placement is just plain fun. In fact, there are even awards for the best (and the worst) use of a product in a movie or television program. In 2010, Toyota Prius was recognized as “Best Role in a Supporting Product Placement.” Its award got us thinking: when you see a Prius in a movie, does it help or hurt Toyota sales? It is hard to say without seeing the figures but we do know that Prius is by far the best-selling hybrid in the U.S., capturing more than 50 percent of its market.

One very well known product placement comes to mind is when Mars famously passed on allowing M&Ms be the candy that lures E.T in the film. Hershey’s agreed to have it’s Reeses Pieces be used and soon after the film debuted, their sales went through the roof. Other examples are Exxon paying $300,000 for it’s name to appear in Days of Thunder. Pampers paid $50,000 to be featured in Three Men and a Baby. Ray-bans also benefited from it’s exposure in Risky Business.

Apple, whose products appeared in 17 of the 40 top-grossing films of 2011, received more than twice the exposure of the second most visible brand. Apple maintains that it doesn’t pay for placement. Still, its mention in the top seven films of 2011 amounted to approximately $50 million in free advertising, according to BrandChannel.com.

Where Product Placement is Worrisome

Proponents of product placement argue that real people use branded products; why shouldn’t movie and television characters use similar products? They say that to use fake labels makes the production look fake. However, where product placement crosses into that gray, uncertain area is the fact that these ads (and aren’t product placements really ads?) aren’t labeled as such. Unsuspecting viewers (like our children) might just assume that everyone uses an Apple computer or drinks a Pepsi. Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of product placement, as discussed rather eloquently by Edward Wasserman in “The Ethics of Product Placement,” is that it blurs the lines between art and advertising. Would Hemingway write a special scene into a novel just to accommodate an advertiser? Would Francois Truffaut insert a scene especially for product placement?

The Bottom Line

Eliminating product placement in media is probably not realistic, or maybe even desirable. After all, brand names are a part of every day life. We—and our kids—see them everywhere. However, like all media viewing, responsible parents need to be aware of what their kids are watching and help to counter the endorsements inherent in product placement with real life common sense.

Share Your Thoughts!

  • Do you think Product Placement just a reflection of reality or sneaky advertising?
  • Do you know of great product placements in tv shows or movies? The Good and the Blatant?
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Is Marketing why Samsung got so big this year?

Samsung Outspends Apple in Marketing

Apple iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 2

This past year there was a significant shift in the smartphone world. Samsung has vaulted up the charts and have become a huge player alongside Apple. With the launch of Apple iPhone, the smartphone industry was for a while a one big-player industry. As blackberries and palms faded into obscurity, there was Apple and everyone else.

Was their increased market share due to marketing?

Here’s a question: How much of that has been due to Samsung’s increased marketing spend? No one likes to think that just seeing more advertising is affecting them in anyway, but companies would not spend millions of dollars if there was no evidence of it working. I see Samsung ads everywhere I go. They’ve plastered billboards and their commercials are all over the media. Not long ago, Samsung was just another player, but now the attitude of most is that Samsung is very good alternative – perhaps the only real alternative to the iPhone.

Samsung made a strategic play to attack Apple directly in their ads as well as blanket media with their brand. Check out the new spend figures below. Samsung increased their advertising by 5x.

Samsung Apple Ad Spend

What do you think?

  • How much do you believe marketing played in the role of their increased brand awareness?
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Watch the New TV Ad for Microsoft Surface Tablet

New Microsoft Surface Tablet TV Ad

Is Microsoft Trying to Change?

Microsoft just release it’s first television ad for the Surface tablet. It is called “The Surface Movement” where the characters spontaneously enter into a dance routine focused around their unique attachable cover keyboards. The Surface tablet itself wasn’t prominently featured, but the coordination involved in the dance routine is impressive and those keyboards had drawn a lot of interest because it simply made a lot of sense to integrate it into the cover.

Microsoft Surface Tablet TV AdMicrosoft has always had this perception of being an “old” company that doesn’t really change or try new things. However with this new Surface tablet, they have taken a big step towards trying something completely new, with a new interface, a creative keyboard and now this light-hearted ad.

  • What do you think of this ad?
  • Fun? Cool? Or trying to hard?
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McDonald’s Photoshop Burger Advertisment Video

McDonald Quarter Pounder Photoshop Burger

The Perfect McDonald’s Advertising Burger

Dear McDonald’s – “Why does your food look different in the advertising than what is in the store?”

This was a question asked by a customer to McDonald’s. I am sure lot of us always wondered or at least balked at how perfect the burgers look on the ads yet look so flat, small, and less appetizing in real life.

Well folks, we already know the answer. It’s because the burgers are carefully crafted and yes, photoshopped to perfection. That is not a surprise. The surprise is that McDonald’s answered this question by producing a quick video on the whole process.

Was this a good move or bad move by McDonald’s?

Either way, we’ve often talked about famous photo manipulations here at Clean Cut Media especially in terms of how altering photos of people causes us to have distorted view of beauty. This is a different kind of “Beauty”, perhaps not so harmful, but still is pretty fun to watch as they carefully craft and photoshop a quarter-pounder with cheese.

Hungry Anyone? Enjoy the video.

Mcdonald’s Photoshopped Burger Video

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