One of the unsung 20th century creators is Richard Whorf (1906-1966), the sometime actor who was director of the Beverly Hillbillies. Whorf was also a dancer, a designer, a producer and a writer. Whorf has a whole world view that is well to appreciate; namely traditional with a warped viewMORE HERE
Catching the film Escape from the Planet of the Apes on Planet of the Apes weekend, the movie was packed with brands. Surely there are more, but these were the ones that are highlighted, just after Zira and Cornelius, previously confined to a zoo, head out of their international pressMORE HERE
LOS ANGELES – One of the great modern hotels, The Century Plaza, is potentially going to be demolished. I say potentially because the owner, developer Michael Rosenfeld, is only applying for permission to tear it down for another real estate development. The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza is one of thoseMORE HERE
SARASOTA – Many of us can recall when IHOP wasn’t cool. Somewhere between 1980 and 1990, the chain got into the category of undesirable. It was so much so that the chain became a joke; comedienne Paula Poundstone’s “IHOP: It was a dream, I made it happen” routine about workingMORE HERE
PALM SPRINGS – Any person who owns a silly little motel by the side of the road ought to look at Hope Springs Motel Resort in Palm Springs, California. It’s an utterly nondescript motel that has turned into a Travel & Leisure favorite. The recipe? A hip approach, minimalist designMORE HERE
Great ads have one thing in common. They sell things. Things like products, services, ideas or lifestyles. If they don’t do this directly, they are memorable enough to influence a consumer at the time he or she makes a purchase.Bad ads are brand poison. If you go public with aMORE HERE
There are the crashed financial empires of today, and the crashed empires of yesteryear. Each generation leaves its famed financiers. A forgotten tycoon is Lytton Financial, which was a high flying savings and loan company. Its founder, Bart Lytton, looks right out of the “Mr. Drysdale” California of the 1960s.MORE HERE
It’s Memorial Day Weekend. A time to celebrate America. And what brand epitomizes the spirit of this country better than Birdwells. Made in Orange County, California since 1961, they are perfection. They started with Carrie Birdwell Mann, who transformed her house into a sewing room and store, launching Birdwell BeachMORE HERE