I'm a celebrity - now get me a sausage on a stick

Hot on the heels of our own article right here, a survey by Conquest into 'The Dynamics of Celebrities and Brands' has revealed that Kerry Katona is considered detrimental to Iceland's credibility.

While Twiggy (Marks & Spencer), and jug-eared footy pundit Gary Lineker (Walker's Crisps) were considered to be credible and trustworthy, more than half of respondents said that Katona is not suitable to endorse the supermarket chain.


The survey outlined that brand owners should view celebrities as 'brands in their own right' and consider what damage personal trauma, tabloid scandal and poor perception could do to their credibility amongst consumers.


But do Iceland care?


Their new Xmas ad running in the breaks of z-list peep-show 'I'm a celebrity, get me out of here' adds a parade of ex-jungle celebs including Jason Donovan and Christopher Biggins to the chubby housewife double act of Katona and Colleen Nolan.


Need to see it to believe it? Knock yourself out...

It's Twins!

Even on holiday, your branding brain keeps ticking over. And as I was shuffling through the newly protracted security procedures at Manchester - surely designed to bore even the most ardent radical into submission - I was struck by the startling similarity between the logo belonging to check-in, baggage handling and cargo company Servisair and the profligate. money-guzzling new Barclaycard logo.


It's often said that there's no such thing as an original idea.


And here's your proof!

How far can a brand bend before it breaks?

Iceland - purveyor of beige buffet food for the sub-prime classes, not the purveyor of crap bank accounts built on sub-prime crashes - has pushed its already creaking brand equity to the limit. Sticking like glue to Kerry Katona, the 'value' frozen food chain has funded alcohol tests for its chubby milf figurehead as a measure of its 'concern'.


The face (and increasingly exposed hooters) of the brand's long-running campaign, Katona offered to take tests in Harley Street to prove that she was not an alcoholic, after her now infamous slurred appearance on Phil and Fern's sofa.


Like a bi-polar-bear with a sore head, Katona angrily denied she had a drinking problem and put her wobbly performance down to the side effects of her anti-psychotic medication.


But where does this show of staunch support leave the Iceland brand? Now burned into onto the public consciousness, the 'That's Why Mums Go To Iceland' campaign, created by Tom Reddy Advertising, has consistently scored as one of the most memorable on television. But for what reasons?

Whilst the chattering M&S classes simply see the Iceland brand as hideously down-market - a cheap and cheerless alternative to Netto - its core target audience of low-income, low expectation, low quality threshold Ds and Es see their own fragmented lives reflected back in the behaviour of Iceland's own 'flawed star'.

And that strange empathy has - thus far - kept the relationship (and the brand) intact.

Iceland are quoted as saying: "We are working with Kerry in the coming weeks to ensure she has a clean bill of health and is able to continue fulfilling her duties as a mum and with Iceland."

But it makes you wonder just how far Katona has to fall before Iceland feels that their brand is being compromised. And whether we really want to find out.

Time Tunnel TV - Ad Break 1984

Danny Bangs the Drum

Our very own Daniel Turnbul Esq. appears in the current issue of the Drum as guest writer of their 'weekly wrap'.


Give the link a click to see how Danny shares his views on life, pitching and everything.


Alternatively, steal someone's copy of the Drum - and no looking for jobs while you're in there.

You've seen the logo...

... now see the ad.

Following on from the hugely underwhelming new Barclaycard logo that cost a meagre £600k to scribble together, here's a sneak preview of the new TV ad that introduces the lovely logo (and Barclaycard's new positioning of 'cut through the clutter of life') to the masses.

It looks expensive: how can they afford it in the current climate? Unless they paid on... ah...

Economy feels the big chill

As the spectre of recession hovers over the economy, there's one interesting stat to take note of.


Although household appliance sales have slowed as people hang onto their stuff for a bit longer, freezer sales are showing a growth of 13 percent.


Freezers being a great way for prudent householders to stock up on home-made food as a way of saving money!


This highlights a growing frugality amongst consumers as the credit crunch begins to bite - and that sometimes, you have to read between the lines a bit to see indicators of the way a market is moving.

The brand that ate itself

What happens when an established brand loses the plot?



After 50 years, you'd think that any mass-market brand would be fairly comfortable with its positioning, both in the marketplace and in the minds of its customers. If, indeed, repetition is reputation and consistency is king for any brand, it takes a brave board to rip it up and start again when the market - and the minds of customers - begin to wander somewhere else.


Which is precisely what Pizza Hut has done.


Founded in Wichita in 1958 and bursting into the UK with a cheese-crust filled bang in 1973, the words 'Pizza' and 'Hut' immediately conjure up images of kids' parties, guilty pleasures and all you can eat mayhem. And so it's always been - until now.


Amidst a fanfare of media puzzlement, owner Yum Brands has changed the name of the chain to... wait for it... 'Pasta Hut'.


This seismic brand-shift has been driven by what Pizza... er... Pasta Hut claim to be 'significant changes' to the nutritional content of its menu. But a move away from food that kids of all ages can eat with their fingers to 'a great new pasta range' that requires cutlery, napkins and a nod to table manners, makes the restaurant chain an altogether different beast.


From owning the quick & easy, family-friendly, no frills, stuff-your-face-and-leave sector of the high-street sit-down restaurant market, the new 'pasta-positioning' moves them firmly into the territory owned nationwide by Bella Pasta and regionally by a hundred thousand faux-italian local trattorias knocking out pasta con vongole at six quid a bowl.


From a clearly defined place in the customer consciousness, Pasta Hut will be the new kid on the populist pasta block: a new name that no-one knows, new values that contradict its old ones - and a new menu that will alienate a whole generation of its core market. Pizza Hut regulars can reel off their families' preferences/combinations by rote: all part of the quick, no-frills experience. But now? Trying to explain the difference between penne and tagliatelle to 20 hyperventilating 10 year olds will challenge even the most ardent advocate willing to give the new brand a chance.


If this shift were a serious attempt to reposition the brand long-term, the biggest hurdle would be overturning 35 years of heavy duty brand-building activity. Having hammered home 'Pizza Hut' and all its attendant values since 1973, it's a lot of brand equity to throw away.


However it seems, after the initial furore, that this 'tinkering' with the brand may be no more than a 12 month publicity stunt to promote its new pasta menu. But why put all of your brand equity and history at risk just to flog more spaghetti? Changing the name, offering, vocabulary and 'soul' of your brand, just to switch it back again will confuse customers and leave them feeling somehow duped - especially the ones willing to embrace the change.


In an even weirder move, it seems that some of the brands restaurants will actually retain the Pizza Hut branding: despite heavy TV and press activity. Which hints strongly of a confused brand hedging its bets.


Whatever the outcome, it will still take a massive effort to get people to think 'Pasta Hut' when their sub-conscious - and their tongue - leaps for the word 'Pizza'. And the brand will still have to re-carve its niche all over again, replacing the familiar combinations of its pizza menu with a whole new brand vocabulary.


As a planner, I can't wait to see how this brand schizophrenia plays out. There will have to be some retention of the visual equity of its predecessor so that there's some continuity in the minds of customers. And it will have to retain a significant amount of its quick and easy ambience - or risk turning into a me-too Bella Pasta clone. And if it does actually gain some sort of 'traction' in the consciousness of customers, it'll all be squandered if (and when) the original brand returns; having taken customers to a completely different place, just to bring them back again.


Here at branding:strategy:other we view brands as the foundation on which you build a business - and the most successful have consistency, clarity and continuity at their core. So, whether the Pizza/Pasta Hut brand survives this most unpalatable reheating remains to be seen.