We were at Sears over the holidays and spotted the Toughskins brand in the kids department. Here, that famous commercial.
BrandlandUSA.com is the website of business and travel writer and editor Garland Pollard. Contact him about freelance writing and editing; his personal website is at GarlandPollard.com
We were thinking that we would LOVE to take a trip on the French Lines, but its gone. Pity. Next best is reading an old post on the S.S. France, which is now in the ship graveyards in India.
We found this in a box of old brochures.
Just think of the STUFF in the BrandlandUSA collection!
This Amoco guidebook series dates from 1955.
BrandlandUSA.com is the website of business and travel writer and editor Garland Pollard. Contact him about freelance writing and editing; his personal website is at GarlandPollard.com
We love things made in the United States. So read our recent histories and features on:
What if CBS still did things like this?
BrandlandUSA.com is the website of business and travel writer and editor Garland Pollard. Contact him about freelance writing and editing; his personal website is at GarlandPollard.com
On this Christmas, we are thinking Christmas, but in case you are thinking about brands here are some Christmas brand stories:
We think it would be so much more interesting if CBS still used this bumper, which dates from the Lou Dorfsman era. We thought about it because Dorfsman just died, and Charlie Brown Christmas, which used to be a staple on CBS, is now running each December on ABC.
It's Christmas time, and we've seen the Amerada Hess trucks for sale, as well as the Life Savers Sweet Storybooks. But we haven't seen the Peter's Home commercial for Folger's. It's an odd bird of a commercial but completely successful; it looks like Robert Redford's Ordinary People and dates from the early 1980s, but it's happy.
We know that Smucker's now owns Folger's. Perhaps that's why. Read our post on Christmas Tradition Marketing.
Back in the day, the Brits knew how to fix the problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. While they didn't mess around with with places that didn't bother them on the open seas, they realized that places like Aden were critical. And so they occupied them. Mind you, they didn't occupy the whole country. They just kept the capital.
So on On 19 January 1839, Royal Marines occupied Aden for the British East Indian Company to prevent pirates. While advocating re-colonialism is a bit beyond the bounds of a simple branding blog (though it is a nice idea), there is a solution.
The flag. American flagged shipping. Bring it back, along with American ships. The problems of American shipping are vast, but in a time of piracy, when insurance rates are high, the protection of the American flag is critical. Perhaps the federal Maritime Administration could have some insta-rule flexibility, and make this happen.
Please read our post Bring Back the American Flagged Ship.
We would submit that a program of immediate flagging of any ship that wishes extra protection could help revive the idea of American shipping.
Here, store brand sherbet from Walgreens. They are brilliant at using different versions of their brand name, including old-styled lettering. It helps to show a historic narrative to consumers, and is fun packaging on top of that.
Visit our main site www.brandlandusa.com for in depth stories. Ideas? Leave a comment or email editor Garland Pollard
The Heat Miser and his friends from Rankin Bass are back on ABC Family in a new special, The Miser Brothers' Christmas.
The characters were part of The Rankin Bass Production of The Year Without a Santa Claus. ABC aired the original shows beginning in 1974, and ABC Family has continued the tradition.
We came across this video of the lighting of the Neiman Marcus store in Downtown Dallas. Who says great Christmas traditions and strong department store brands are no longer? They just need to go to Dallas, and visit Neiman Marcus. By the way, the beginning of the second verse, "God on God, Light on Light" always gets me.
Visit our main site for a roundup of still operating downtown department stores at www.brandlandUSA.com.
If you are hungry for something terribly tasty, try a Taylor Pork Roll, made by Taylor Provisions of Trenton, N.J. The company was founded by John Taylor in 1856. Noted food writer Andrew Zimmern says that the idea of a pork roll might date back to the Revolutionary War. Whatever the date, they make us hungry.
They are sold by Doumar's, the classic drive-in restaurant in Norfolk.
A note on the logo. The "O" with the cross in Taylor comes from the way you cook the pork rolls. In order to fry them, you have to keep them flat. And to keep them flat, you have to cut little lines into the pork in four places so that when it cooks, it stays flat and doesn't curl up.
Visit our main site http://www.brandlandusa.com/ for in depth stories. Ideas? Leave a comment or email editor Garland Pollard
Read our post on what has happened to Life Savers.
Thankfully, you can still buy a Sweet Storybook this Christmas. And Pep-o-Mint is still around.
We recently found the Patrician brand of candles. Plain, white candles. Thankfully, they don't smell stinky like Yankee Candle.
If you miss Kraft Fudgies, please read our story on it and leave a comment at the BrandlandUSA.com story called Bring Back Kraft Fudgies.
Artifacts found at the Marco Island Museum in Old Marco, Florida. A cosmetic bottle, perhaps perfume, from Helene Curtis. Right, a trademark blue Noxzema jar, from the old Noxell company in Baltimore.
Visit our main site www.brandlandusa.com/ for wacky advice on keeping your brand alive, outside of a museum.
