ST. LOUIS – Introduced in 1898, Grape-Nuts was the nation’s first cold cereal, though you can also eat it hot. It’s not grape, nor is it nuts, but instead it is whole wheat, flour, salt and yeast. It is baked, and then ground up and baked again. A glorious processMORE HERE
HOOKSET, N.H. – Twins Smoke Shop in Hooksett and Londonderry will bring back the 7-20-4 cigar, made by the K. A. Kendall Co. Millions upon millions of the cigars were made until 1963; the cigar was named for the Manchester street address of the company. The makers have found manufacturersMORE HERE
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois – Sears Holdings (SHLD) announces earnings today; turns out their second-quarter loss is $94 million, or 79 cents a share, with revenue falling to $10.55 billion from $11.76 billion. I could have guessed it going into their Westfield Sarasota Square store. On our visit, the clerks wereMORE HERE
Ripplewood Holdings had sent an American classic into bankruptcy. Read BrandlandUSA’s stories about how to save this American icon: The potential of Reader’s Digest in a Web 2.0 World. What to do about the magazine (and company) now that it is in bankruptcy. Hint: They need to channel the Wallaces.MORE HERE
PLEASANTVILLE, NY. – That private capital has been unsuccessful in a leveraged buyout of Reader’s Digest Association Inc. should be no surprise. Private capital like Ripplewood Holdings has failed in all manner of media plays. The reality is that during a downturn, a company can’t be expected to be payingMORE HERE
KILMARNOCK, SCOTLAND – Great brands are associated with a place. This is true even more with alcohol other products that have elastic demands. The place of manufacture adds to the allure of the brand, and that helps build a market for it. You differentiate your liquor product not only byMORE HERE
NEW YORK – Jake Holmes perhaps has had as much influence on American music as any other singer songwriter, but unless you are a devotee of early 1970s rock or advertising, you probably don’t know his name. But you certainly know his music, which includes Gillette’s “Best a Man CanMORE HERE
PORT ROYAL, VIRGINIA – When you think roadside, you think Stuckey’s and Horne’s. Both were the roadside rest stops; before the government got in the bathroom business with so many Interstates, places like Stuckey’s and Horne’s served up bathrooms, souvenirs, gas, food and whopee cushions to the American masses. Stuckey’sMORE HERE
Advertisers and agencies get so obsessed with technology in advertising that we forget that there is still effective analog advertising. One such concept is Sarasota’s I Pedal Ads, a bicycle-powered billboard. In most areas, zoning and sign restrictions have become so severe that there are fewer and fewer ways toMORE HERE