Disqus - Latest Comments for ptdavis

Re: Designing a Data Center for the Future

ptdavis — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:19:28 -0000

Particularly good piece. Glad to see this all in one place.

Re: Brand Building for Law Firms

ptdavis — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:50:03 -0000

Perhaps the most vapid discussion of branding I've ever read.

Re: Starbucks @ Work

ptdavis — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:46:14 -0000

Spot on. It is a lost brand...defined by lost opportunities. Not to be too self-congratulatory, but we saw this opportunity for championing the working person well in advance. Starbucks: give us a call. We could have helped! http://www.unboundedition.c...

Re: Mouths Agape Pondering New GAP Logo

ptdavis — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 08:38:14 -0000

If you have to have the PR geniuses explain the logo, it fails. The point of a great mark is that it communicates and does not require corporate blah-blah. By that definition alone, this hideous mark that mistakes the mundane for the simple is DOA.

Re: Perspectives on The Decision: We Needed a New King

ptdavis — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:21:11 -0000

Perhaps. But what other spectacles of success can we identify over the past two years or so? I've acknowledged it was a self-indulgent show. But it was also more...not just that. The right show at the right time. It played big for a reason, and not just because of PR hacks. There was and is a big audience for this staged event.

Re: Ashton Kutcher, Studio Boss: Brand Building in the Post-Agency Era

ptdavis — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:22:25 -0000

Indeed a good point. I did mean "mild acting talent" and hoped the rest of the piece celebrated his true intelligence and insights.

Re: Volvo's Thoughtful Brand Management Eclipsed by Latest Twilight Partnership

ptdavis — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:38:27 -0000

Slackjawed. This is beyond painful.

Re: Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles Of Good Design Explained

ptdavis — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:56:13 -0000

And, apparently, good design IS totally repetitive and passive. Geez.

Re: Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet. WB is Hunting for Bwand Welevance

ptdavis — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 10:09:05 -0000

Here's to the power of cultural context! These characters capture moments in time, right or wrong. To update Pepe for today is to undo him entirely.

Re: Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet. WB is Hunting for Bwand Welevance

ptdavis — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:13:02 -0000

Sounds too little, too late, too lame to me. Sad.

Re: The Rise of Moral Brands

ptdavis — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:54:52 -0000

More on the rise of moral brands: http://www.psfk.com/2010/05...

Re: Apple Overtakes Microsoft, Becoming 2nd Largest US Company

ptdavis — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:31:25 -0000

Shockingly (or not) a big, traditional agency recently said to me that "Apple is still a niche company." Way to track, dudes.

Re: The streaming news disrupter (and how the iPad is changing what we expect from media)

ptdavis — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:53:48 -0000

I get it. You are over-PR'd. On message - info overload, stream browsing, relevant, personalized, prioritized, etc etc. It's a shame, really, when it could have been really inspirational. Quit trusting old school PR plays and just talk to us about your ideas.

Re: Can BP Clean Up its Act After the Big Spill?

ptdavis — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:48:59 -0000

Great thoughts here. This spill may be the Three Mile Island of offshore drilling, and pull down the BP brand entirely by the time it is done (not to mention a potential generational ban on deep water drilling). If so, you are right: look for BP to reverse the decision to make AMOCO an ingredient brand, and return it to the forefront.

Re: In the Court of the Technophiles, Can a Fool be King?

ptdavis — Sat, 22 May 2010 19:04:20 -0000

Forget the damned Internet. Our Reps don't even use ATMs. You've hit on something much bigger here: http://www.washingtonpost.c...

Re: In the Court of the Technophiles, Can a Fool be King?

ptdavis — Sat, 22 May 2010 02:34:29 -0000

And sadly, they find it funny: RT @huffingtonpost: WATCH: SCOTUS Justices Scalia, Breyer talk Twitter... Scalia: 'My wife calls me Mr. Clueless' http://huff.to/bkY2bW

Re: Swiss Tourism's "Rock" a Stone of Contention

ptdavis — Fri, 14 May 2010 06:41:34 -0000

With the exception of a brief glimpse of the Alps, this could be anywhere. I think that is a real sign of a failed tourism campaign. But beyond the campaign, the bigger, questionable "idea" of Swiss = natural beauty....um, what place can't or doesn't claim that?

Re: Why Starbucks Rebranded Seattle's Best Coffee

ptdavis — Thu, 13 May 2010 10:10:31 -0000

The solution is one that seems more "commodity" than "simplified" to me. And it speaks more "blood bank" than great coffee. But, most problematically, the "good to the last drop" cup is both owned and tired.

Re: Sonos: A Tale of Woofers and Tweeters

ptdavis — Mon, 03 May 2010 10:30:50 -0000

Here's to more companies like Sonos.

Re: Domino’s Will Not Be Ignored, Dan

ptdavis — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:14:56 -0000

So The PIzza has been on my mind recently. Twice, I have fallen for Pizza Hut's $10/any pie campaign -- only to call post-Web order to cancel the pizza when the delivery time exceeds 90 minutes do to overload. In each case, I've gone with Domino's, and the pies are significantly better. But I didn't go because of the advertising: i went because of the Web utility on the site: just last night, Nathan put my ham and double mush into the oven at 6 40 pm, and I knew when it left for my house. Like most, I order this "better sauce on former cardboard" when starving, and seeing the minutes pass by helps me white-knuckle it to cheesy goodness. Transparency of process...transparency of focus groups...great. Stupid Crispin stunt ads: as appetizing as old Domino's.

Re: Marketing To Men

ptdavis — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:19:41 -0000

Really half-baked. In this age of rich data and smart segmentation strategies, do we really still need to hear this type of pablum and dim generalization. In related news: I hear men are "more visual" too. Geez.

Re: Search Buddy Check: Man or Machine?

ptdavis — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:46:08 -0000

Good stuff. Meaning, not promotion, will drive the marketplace very soon. Brands will need to both contribute to and navigate this semantic landscape.

Re: Woods' Superego Featured in New Nike Spot

ptdavis — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:59:03 -0000

Totally agree with Manon and T on this one. It is presenting faux vulnerablity, faux straight talk. No, Nike's job is not to hold him accountable. But one doesn't whitewash by pretending to "get real." Really disingenuous in my view. A more credible view: he's not polite; he's a self-indulgent badass; a mofo in golf. Men who don't play by the rules - this is your sport now too. Would it work? Don't know. Would it be real? Yes.

Re: Woods' Superego Featured in New Nike Spot

ptdavis — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:06:18 -0000

Hmmmm. Doesn't sit well with me. It is trying to "humanize" him and present him as vulnerable, less slick and controlled. Except that's a lie. It's totally controlled -- and it doesn't hold him accountable. It treats his disastrous behavior as a point of curiosity. But, most seriously, the superego of the father is, of course, not speaking to Tiger. He's speaking to us -- the goal being to get us to recast judgment and disgust to understanding.

Re: On Gum and Condoms

ptdavis — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:53:39 -0000

Cute enough. But I'm really impressed by the smart approach to conveying functional brand benefits as opposed to faux emotional payoffs. The basic message: "you ready to...kiss?"