Just like their mascot, that (sort of) singing Michigan J. Frog, The WB is back for another run. And this time, Warner Brothers is hoping the frog will actually sing. It’s a great time for old entertainment brands. Who would have thought that Screen Gems and United Artists would beMORE HERE
It doesn’t look good for Ford’s Mercury brand. In the April 23, 2008 Wall Street Journal, CEO Alan Mulally said just as much. In the 2007 Ford Motor Company Annual Report, the division sold 143,886 units, down from 180,000 in 2006. That’s a big drop. Of late, the division hasMORE HERE
LIFE magazine lives on. In name really. The latest release from iconic LIFE comes in the form of a “stunning, oversized hardcover book” called Dream Destinations. The travel book takes readers to 100 of the world’s greatest destinations including the Masai Mara and iconic wonders like Montezuma. It hits bookstoresMORE HERE
There are many questions that I have about electronics brands. For instance, why doesn’t Motorola sell car radios? It was their original business, and some sort of radio/cellphone combo would be the perfect way for them to get back into the cellular game. The other question. Why aren’t there HallicraftersMORE HERE
When we started BrandlandUSA, we were sure that there were some brands that were so niche and strange that they could never be revived, even if there were a few odd people who wanted them. In particular, there were two shampoo brands that we thought would never be back. First,MORE HERE
The big question on Bill Bennett’s Morning in America radio program today was “Do they still make those lemon juice squeezers that are shaped like lemons?” It appeared that Seth Liebsohn, who is Bennett’s on air foil (and executive producer) could not find them. Apparently, they weren’t in most Washington,MORE HERE
Who wants to go to Shakey’s Pizza? If you were of a certain generation, everyone did. My personal memory is of a pizza parlor on Virginia Beach Boulevard near the Princess Anne Plaza shopping center in Virginia Beach. The “parlor” was small. A player piano played bad Dixieland. Badly editedMORE HERE
What to do when you have a good brand, but then the market changes and technology changes, and the old brand can no longer exist? You do what the New York radio station WABC 77 AM does. It compromises. WABC 77 has had many lives. It was first the flagshipMORE HERE
What to do when you have a great, old brand with a great history and you need a new trick? Release a classic version of the product. That’s just what Golden Valley, Minn.-based General Mills just did with their Wheaties cereal brand. General Mills released a vintage version of theMORE HERE
Old venerable brand. Unionized workers. Well-known. Losing money. First-rate products. Legendary brand allure. Icon. Such is the case with Corning subsidiary, Steuben Glass. No longer is lead crystal the must-have bridal gift, and no longer is Corning willing to lose money. USA Today reports they have lost $30 million overMORE HERE