Over the years, I’ve encountered the odd fanboy who will go so far as to mark his body with the logo of Apple, or Nike, or Harley Davidson, or Budweiser (those last two on the same person), but never would I imagine that such an extensive collection of brand logo tattoos could be compiled. Even by Internet standards, I’m impressed. Go check out the collection »

Many of these are pretty standard “tribe” brands — it’s almost expected that Nintendo, Playboy, or the Yankees would have supporters so dedicated — but Penguin books? Ikea? Windows Vista? Not exactly bad-ass, if you ask me.

While the social remarkability of tattoos has been massively diminished over the years, the fact that so many folks are willing to go under the needle for a corporate brand still speaks volumes as to the strength of that brand, and of brands in general. When a brand so consistently and repeatedly connects with a population, the results is the creation of a powerful tribe. In the best case scenario, this tribe will promote and recruit new members, if not consumers. But in the worst case, some poor sap is stuck with the tattoo of a defunct or least disgraced, once-mighty brand. Chevy, Ford, Sega, I’m looking at you.

What brand would you consider tattooing on your body? Observing the amount of Tropicana OJ I drink, that might be a candidate. But they are liable to randomly change their logo, and thereby alienate the brand faithful, so I don’t think that’s a good choice. When I was 18, I very nearly got a tattoo from the semiotics of the Star Wars universe, but that too has betrayed me over the years. The Baccardi logo is pretty cool, and I am Puerto Rican, after all, but I don’t drink, so it would be completely insincere. Oh well, better stick with ancient symbols and latin mottos or maybe something a little less specific.

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• I has visitors! http://twitpic.com/a6g2r (via @Newsychu) #
• back from a weekend holiday. Oy, so much unpacking and organising to do … OCD flaring up. #
• Adieu, Hawley, PA #
• Traffic!! Argh! #
• Traffic? Out here? #

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OK, maybe I shouldn’t use the word “invade” for any matters concerning Canada, but it is true that a beloved coffee-and-donut chain from the Great White North, Tim Hortons, has purchased 12 Dunkin’ Donuts locations in the City. Details are sketchy, but I trust Bloomberg. (via the NY Post, though, so I dunno).

In a sense, this is a slap in the face of Dunkin’ Donuts, who are king of NY fast food, being so easily franchised and able to fit into even the tiniest corner of a storefront. But perhaps it’s simply the evolution of that market space. Dunkin’ has, in recent years, shifted their focus from donuts to coffee, as is evident on their homepage. Timmy Ho’s is keeping it real in the realm of the baked goods. So maybe a little competition is just was Dunkin’ needs to get themselves back in the game, eh?

It will be interesting to see how well New Yorkers receive a new competitor in this area. We are very much creatures of habit when it comes to coffee, and in donuts we aren’t the most open-minded folks; Krispy Kreme hasn’t made much of a dent here in spite of their dominance in other parts of the US and Canada. Another hurdle for the Canadians will be coping with New York’s relatively new policy of full transparency for health benefits — no trans fat and requiring a listing of the calorie count have made New Yorkers less likely to buy donuts compared with … coffee, I guess.

Somehow, those rules don’t apply to those peanut vendors on the street. Who knows what’s in those, but damn they’re good.

UPDATE: good old Gothamist has more info, with quotes and everything. »

// a tale of New York, brands & branding, national identities
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• best of Craig's List: My Nazi Dolls – http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/nyc/51526837.html #
• Newark broad street station. Where else would i be watching the fireworks? #
• did anyone catch on tonight's BB how Marcus used the phrase "complete fuckin' poppycock"? Brilliant. #

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Ever wonder what would happen if you took popular high-fashion brands and created a line of cupcakes in a similar style of art direction? Well, wonder no more. From Zen Cupcake comes exactly such an examination. Srsly.

While this is bizarre in its unexpectedness, it’s actually novel in that the whole endeavor reminds us of the power of brands, in this case portrayed through photography and the combination of colour, type, lighting, pattern, and symbolism. The fact that these labels can be deconstructed to their elementary particles is testament to solid branding and consistent design modes over the years. It really has nothing to do with fashion.

There is an old adage that says that a brand is powerful if people see a similar style and think “that could be an ad for ____.” Think of Apple, Coke, Target, American Apparel, Volkswagen, Bud Light, or Geico, to name a few. You know and recognise the brand even before you see a logo or read a line of copy or hear one word of voiceover. That’s what you should be striving for — and enduring, consistent style that is unique to your brand.

Ok, now go get yourself a cupcake.

// a tale of WTF, advertising: print, brands & branding, fashion, photography, the internet
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Back in September, amid a storm torrent of shenanigans on Wall St., I proposed a number of ways the new Bank of America-owned Merrill Lynch would present itself. Turns out, they went for route #3, a hybrid of the two in the style of Bank of America’s existing brand. See the new look here. (and above) Ooh, dramatic.

The Merrill Bull has been set free. Pity.

It was pretty close to the one I cooked up … in 2 minutes.

via Identity Works »

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• I think we all forget how bad-ass this video is: http://bit.ly/5Vva2 #
• Billy Mays wikipedia entry: up-to-date. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mays #
• Nothing like waking up to some loud, lost, drunk midwestern girl looking for her apartment. (via @rebeccaforever) #

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