While enjoying a can of original flavoured Pringles potato chips I realized how much thought was put into this product by Procter & Gamble. The individuals that created this brand are brilliant. To take such a common snack food and differentiate themselves in the potato chip market to the extent they have - from the shape of the potato chip that is designed to fit perfectly in your mouth, tubular can with a plastic lid instead of a bag as packaging and a chip with really a unique flavour, texture and mouthfeel that is outstanding. I love the Pringles logo which is very unique and the slogan is so clever, it just burns in your brain after hearing it once.

"Once you pop, you can't stop"

Pringles is IMO the perfect product branding. Everything possible about this product is unique and it is so well executed. Well done Procter and Gamble INC. These chips are fabulous.

Anyone else have their favorites?

I think the "unique flavour" is called salt.

Jeeez, are you guys EVER gonna get off the masturbation riff?

(And yes, I wrote "get off"....)

They use dehydrated potatos in the recipe. I believe potatos only make up 40%-50% of the chip.

They should make potat-"O" chips with a hole in the middle.

Gotta love the seven-ounce stack of salty sin.

Good question, Dr. Horse, and cool idea for a thread.

I have no answers off of the top of my head (how many times do I say that on a daily basis ?!), but I bet something will come up.

As far as cool advertising in general, I like the Mini Cooper print ads. A few years back they had an ad that was a realistic-looking fake traffic ticket that you could put on someone's windshield, admiring their ride, among other possibilities. I also like the "I'm a Mac" TV ads. They are the reason that I picture JohnK as looking like John Hodgman in my mind.

Then again, there are those in the mental health field who look upon advertising with scorn as a misuse of psychology.

One of my favourite ads from years ago, was a Porsche 930 cresting a rise on the road with all four wheels off the ground with the caption something like "Is it any wonder that most Rocket Scientists come from Germany?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Gj_2i_qwM

That is the best commercial I have seen on TV since the Audi/Godfather one for the R8 during the Superbowl a year or two ago. Just priceless. 99% muscle, 1% bathing suit LOL

I like the Audi R8 driving through Modena, myself.

I'd still take just about anything that comes out of Modena, bar none. I got to ogle over an F430 that was here at work yesterday for a bit, those things are incredible. I drove a 550 Maranello about a year ago, but only for a few minutes.

The E.D. ad where Bret Favre threw a football through a tire swing. Subtle.

I've never gotten to drive either the Audi or a Ferrari, so I really can't say. I just found the ad awfully amusing.

That said, I root for Audi in racing a lot more than I root for Ferrari.

Phhttt! Porsche has more wins than nearly all other manufacturers combined.

Well, yeah, but they don't run in F1 or in P1.

While my intention was to focus on the complete branding of the product not just commerical marketing, I have to say my favorite at the moment are the Toronto Blue Jays commericals.

The add campaign consists of Blue Jays (the bird) dressed up in fancy suits in a board of directors meeting tossing around ideas to marketing the team. Its a very fun and clever commercial which really delivers on the "corporate humour".

Speaking about the Toronto Blue Jays I just love how they market the pretty waitresses bringing food and drink to the luxury seats behind home plate. The waitresses also offer complimentary ice cream products between the 5th and 7th inning to those individials. What a wonderful service! Its kind of like marketing "first class" on a airplane. However, it makes me sad when I see attendance at a all time low. But when you don't win? You can't blame fans not attending.

On a positive, I noticed last night Geddy Lee from Rush was taking in the Red Sox vs Jays game.

True, the rule makers slowed the P2 cars down a few years ago because the Spyders were too close to the P1's, snicker. They pulled out of P1 more than 10 yrs ago because there wasn't enough competition once Mercedes, BMW, Toyota, Panoz ect pulled out. Audi has a good car in P1, but you have to consider they haven't really had to race against much until Peugeot came along.

I'd like to see more backing on the Spyders, really. There's only one team running them in ALMS, and I don't know how many there will be at LM. I was a pretty big fan when Penske was running them.

What really flipped me into the Audi camp (other than being a big fan of McNish) is that they were willing to try racing a diesel, and were able to make it work.

I think you mean Flirt class.

Until the Jays get some relief pitching, I would suspect attendance won't improve too much. Letting Halliday go didn't help, he was the best player we had and the crowd favourite. Btw, haven't seen the commercial that you speak of yet.

I think you mean Flirt class.

I believe the good Doctor was correct Adrian, he just forgot to mention the 'Southern Airways' part.

Sit through the game tonight, you will most likely see a couple different versions of the commercial I am speaking of. I love the hot dog concept myself.

True to a point. The problem is though, the ACO made it too easy for the diesel powered cars and many manufacturers(of gas powered cars) decided not to run under the current rules which gave the diesels the advantage. That's one place, I believe, that Porsche was a little irked by. It takes great expense to develope a race car only to have the rules changed a yr or two later...I understood that Porsche was looking for at least a 5 yr formula or something in that neighbourhood. Diesel race cars are interesting, but it severely limited the grid in P1 over the last decade because most manufacturers aren't really interested in that type of engine.

Well, they're trying to rein them in. I haven't finished watching Sebring yet (yeah, I know...), but I get the feeling that it didn't really work.

This thread will become my first DOUBLE DERAIL!!

Maybe we need a separate "Auto Things" thread.

Auto RACING.

I might be vaguely interested in Auto THINGS.

Such a thread will be much easier to ignore if titled accurately.

I like guinness beer.
I like this commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrSSSfYE2dQ

There are definately a lot more bad commercials than good now, that's for sure. During the hockey that East Side Marios commercial makes me want to run into traffic. Oh, and Subway's commercials have been horrible forever. And Telus using all the animals is getting very stale, although they were clever when they first started (about 6 or 8 years ago).

EDIT: Canadians will know more about these than the guys in the US

What a very interesting question Doc. It's really one that should not be derailed, because it really makes you think. How do you quantitatively or qualitatively answer this question? I think that most people on this forum would say "Axiom", but it's really a cop-out. We all love Axioms which is why we are here, so that gets thrown out. Foodwise, my tastes change every couple of years, so I can't really give a good suggestion for that (into Papa John's now for out of big city pizza). Plus, everyone's taste is different.

So, after thinking about it for a while, I came up with...

LEGO.

I loved them as a kid, and I love playing with them as an adult with my kids. They love LEGO too! It's a great product, high quality standards, great fun to build, great fun to play with, and has a very high level of QA. I really do enjoy this product alone, and with my children.

So... I think LEGO would be my choice.

LEGO is a really good choice SRoode. Brilliant and original concept, well engineered, quality product and the LEGO brand is so well established worldwide. Do any companies have a similar product that compete with LEGO?

Yes, there are two others that I know of. One is Mega Blocks, and I don't remember what the other is called. They're all relatively compatible, but from what I've seen of the other two brands, the plastic is not nearly as high quality as Lego.

“The Few, The Proud, The Underpaid.” No wait that’s not how it went . . . .

What about Monopoly? Milton Bradley, I think? That's had some staying power.

Well, I am not sure what the name of the strips that cops throw out in front of cars to puncture the tires - but Legos have a similar affect on bare feet when you step on them at 3 am as you stagger to the kitchen in the dark to get a drink of water.

On a more serious note, both my brother and his wife are "creative directors" at advertising firms in NYC. When you see poor commercials, a lot of times it is the company that is paying for the advertising that is to blame. Both have lamented many times that great ideas and concepts get quashed by Company Execs imposing their own ideas rather than letting the Ad Firm do its job.

I don't want to take away from anybody's love of Pringles or other 'molded' food products but I once got a tour of a plant where they convert potatoes into the goop (my word, not theirs) that gets trucked out in aluminum tankers to final stage factories like and/or including Pringles. While everything was immaculately clean and very high tech looking, let's just say that after looking into a giant vat of mixing goop, I will likely never eat another 'molded' potato chip again.

How do you feel about Chicken McNuggets?

Ha, very much the same.

Although, if Pringles were made of meat (OK, 'sold' as meat) and could be coated in Barbacue sauce, at least they would appeal to my man-card side. I'll still pass though.

I am not big on "Processed Cheese Food" either.....nor instant mashed potatoes.....

I in a past life did lots of work in food plants ... name one....frito lay, needed a shower and throw away your clothes after walking thru, the grease hung on you ... separate experiences but after a taco bell sub contractor and a, reconfigure at a frozen burrito plant I didn't eat either one for 10 years ... I'm over it, they all are like that, so either fresh vegies or deal with it!

And you really don't want to see anything that has to do with meat! The cleanest, most ... I don't know ... nice? was a dog food plant owned by Mars .. the Candy Bar people and Kraft Foods was always acceptable

Sorry!

And don't get me on hospitals and rodent traps!

What do we have to do to get you started on hospitals and rodent traps? Might be interesting, especially if the two are intertwined.

Some wildly sucessful (and old) brandings:

The Marlboro Man
Joe Isuzu
See the USA in your...
Spicy Meatballs
Gnilla Knudson saying "Take it off, take it all off."
The Quaker Oats Quaker
Anita Bryant and OJ
Joe Namath and panty hose
Should a Gentleman offer a Tiparillo to a lady?
Where's the Beef?
Pinesol Lady
But you're soaking in it...
And one Congress had to step in and squelch recently: Joe Camel

These are the kind that have never let you forget the product, no matter the schtick or hooks.

Coca Cola has really fallen off of their game in the last 20 or so years. Before that, they had several memorable campaigns:

Coke adds life
Coke is it
"I'd like to teach the world to sing"
"The pause that refreshes"

I think they are still the #1 recognized word in the world. I'd imagine McDonald's and Nike are up there as well.

What about.....
The Maytag Man
Please don't squeeze the Charmin
Bryl Cream - a little dab'll do ya...

..."everyone loves a Slinky"

..."if it doesn't say Wham-o, it isn't a Frisbee"

..."plop, plop, fizz, fizz, OH! what a relief it is"

"You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent".

It's Kenner. It's fun! (sqwak!)
And this permeated my childhood:
"Mother, please! I'd rather do it myself!"

Or:
Once upon a time there was an engineer...

Damn... you guys are old!

For sure! But are you...experienced? Have you ever been experienced? We don't look at concert footage archivally, like some o' you's Hoodsies. (That one was for you, Mark)

Coca-Cola has had excellent product branding over years. Some of the best in the world. From the innovative contour shape of the bottle and other packaging, clever slogans and advertising, the idea to supply Coca-Cola to the troops during the war (one of the best ideas ever to stimulate growth of the company and loyality to the brand).

Such a successful brand that a lot of the Coca-Cola merchandise is worth quite a bit these days.

With so many of you citing Coca Cola as example, am I to assume that the Pepsi Generation is actually deceased?

I think the "pop" generation has sort of deceased...well decreased. Its always going to be a popular product for children but there is much more public awareness towards "healthy eating/drinking" and a lot more alternative products to soda pop that are appealing to kids these days (not necessarily healthy alternatives).

I don't drink pop anymore (maybe once or twice a year) but I always liked Pepsi.

So, no "Dew mouth" in your house, Dr. House?

I've tried to lower the HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) in my diet, which means 95% of sugared sodas. The more I hear about that stuff, the more frightened I get.

I also liked the Dunkin' Donuts guy, "Time to make the Donuts ..." which I will use fairly often when I'm tired at the start of a work day.

Also, apparently the Pace Picante "New York City?!" ad was effective on both me and Ken.

This logo is not for an actual company, but I thought it was genius:

http://logofaves.com/2010/01/spartan-golf-club/

Golf Club condoms?

Perfect sponsor for Tiger.

One of my inlaws said that Tiger should totally embrace who he really is and go with a new image. He could drop the goody-goody sponsors and instead sign deals with Trojan, Playboy, and Courvoisier.

Now why would they do that, since, all these years, he's apparently been supporting them---Big Time?!

Speaking of product branding, this makes me really want to get TomTom GPS navigation:

http://nerdapproved.com/misc-gadgets/darth-vader-gps-helps-you-find-the-turn-to-the-dark-side/

We can "thank" Edward Bernays for creating branding and the all consuming self.

Although it's ubiquitous, I try not to acknowledge it.