QUINCY, Ill. – One of the best known, but forgotten, kitchen cleaners of the 20th century is Bab-O. Today, the brand is a trademark and product of, and a perfect complement to, the cleaning products of the family owned Fitzpatrick Brothers of Quincy, Illinois. Their operating manifesto? A business withMORE HERE
Even if a venerable brand is beloved, companies still need to continue to invest in the product’s brand story. Such is the case with the key brands of Procter & Gamble, which has a long record in investing in its oldest brands. Last month, Target Corporation stores featured Crest, Secret,MORE HERE
In the last few weeks I have been making some brand-related observations while out in the mad world of brands. Here are some of the good and bad, and in between. It’s a new feature here called On the Shelves, a sort of Hodgepodge Lodge of brand notes. Quarters for Cigs.MORE HERE
CINCINNATI – This May, Procter & Gamble is offering limited edition, retro-packaged versions of Tide, Bounce and Downy, only available at Target. It’s an amusing promotion that helps to educate younger consumers about Tide’s legacy, while giving older consumers a bit of nostalgia. “Technology has changed how we wash andMORE HERE
At first sight, it seems that our choices for American-made brands are decreasing. Just two big beer brewers, three big cereal companies, and four large laundry detergent makers. Small laundry detergent brands seem to be the most challenged. How can small and local brands survive and even flourish against aMORE HERE
TORRANCE, Calif. – The 19th century Japanese pharma company Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical, a manufacturer of external pain relieving drugs, announced the release of two products for the American market, Salonpas Pain Relief Patch and Salonpas Arthritis Pain. Hisamitsu, founded in 1847, introduced the original SALONPAS patch in 1934 and their productsMORE HERE
NEW YORK – In 2004, urban theorist Jane Jacobs not only predicted the burst in the real estate bubble, but talked about how it could unwind. In her book Dark Age Ahead, the late Jacobs (best known for her treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities) took aMORE HERE
NEW YORK – With the announcement that CBS will cancel As The World Turns, we wonder why this television classic is not finding a new life in the new media with its producer, Publicis’ TeleNext? Perhaps it might, as officials are searching for new venues, and appear not to beMORE HERE
ORRVILLE, Ohio – Peter is officially home again. In his last Christmas trip home during the Roaring Reagan year of 1986, Peter was dropped off in an old VW bug in a Norwegian sweater. When he got home to his nice mansion in the early morning, he went into theMORE HERE
20 years ago, Gillette introduced a campaign that completely re-energized its brand and company. It was “The Best A Man Can Get” and its zippy song, sung by the nation’s top jingle-writer and singer Jake Holmes, talked about “looking sharp” and showed a succession of non-celebrity, clean-shaven normal men goingMORE HERE