What’s returning? The House of the Future at Disneyland. No longer sponsored by Monsanto, a company perhaps too busy with corn licensing to find anything amusing about it, will re-open in May in Tomorowland. Knight Rider. NBC is bringing it back, without David Hasslehoff. What’s disappeared? Polaroid. The company willMORE HERE
What makes a brand stand out? Doing something different. Go to The Monkey Room at The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort on Longboat Key in Sarasota, Florida. There you will find: Monkeys painted on the walls doing funky things A piano lounge singer, right out of another groovin’ era AndMORE HERE
It looks likely that there are going to be some airline mergers, including a possible Northwest and Delta combination. In the process, a great airline brand could be lost. We hope it is not Northwest. Because Northwest is one of the coolest airlines around. It still runs the DC-9. AndMORE HERE
NEW YORK – The demolition of New York’s Hotel Pennsylvania looks a bit less likely with troubles on Wall Street, though it is still not safe. Merrill Lynch, the investment firm that would have occupied an office tower on the location, has other things to worry about. There is notMORE HERE
One of the zippiest little Fords of all time will return to the U.S. market. It’s the Fiesta. The folks at Ford didn’t bring it back to please America. If that were the case, Ford would be bringing back the Country Squire, Galaxie 500 and Model A. No, the FiestaMORE HERE
The Detroit Electric brand is set to return almost 60 years after it shut down. Its hopefully the first of many American automotive brands that are is tapping into American automotive history for for some attention. Once only a museum exhibit, the resuscitated brand is a joint announcement between USMORE HERE
AUBURN HILLS – The news on Chrysler isn’t good. The company announced yesterday that it was drastically scaling down its dealer network, only a few months after killing off models like the PT Cruiser. The move will cost dealers millions, and is necessary because Chrysler isn’t selling enough cars toMORE HERE
We usually write about good brands that are screwed up. But this year, 2008, is the 50th anniversary of the Boston Whaler. The 50th year of the Unsinkable Boston Whaler. The company was founded in 1956 by Richard T. “Dick” Fisher and C. Raymond Hunt. Boston Whaler is now aMORE HERE
In London, The Crown Estate has sold the old Hotel Metropole to Malta-based International Hotel Investments Plc for £130 million. The once-successful hotel, built in the 1880s, will be renovated into a luxury hotel again. This came after worries of a possible demolition, as the building was not Listed. InMORE HERE
It is always a good idea to remember the lessons of brand-killing mistakes. While most know the case of New Coke, there are other products that have returned because of consumer pressure. One fan sites relating to a bad decision is Bovril. In 2004, Unilever removed beef from the productMORE HERE