While the newish Harper's website fits that magazine's fusty, "who needs to turn a profit anyway" aesthetic (and subscribers get full access to the indispensable indexed archives), The Atlantic's recent branding campaigns don't seem to have anything to do with the magazine's identity, whatever the hell that is anymore (plus: 300 articles for $100 with nothing from 1964-1992 just doesn't compare to the Harper's deal.)

Honestly the Atlantic's identity crisis still stems from the move from lame Boston to miserable DC followed by a new focus on, you know, politics, though that crisis has actually produced what might be a better magazine with more interesting (to us) features.

And hey, the website looks good, the new logo is a cool appropriation of their '60s logo, and the mag redesign will probably look very nice (unless it's as pointlessly busy as that first cover). Still, a massive ad campaign and a expensive rebranding for a smart current events mag seems a bit '90s, right?

BUT! Atlantic Media also owns the expensive subscription-only political trade journals of the National Journal Group! And if there is a market for political journalism in this nation, that is the model, so far, that seems the best able to weather the storm. So, thankfully, Global Security Newswire will subsidize Andrew Sullivan well into the Obama administration and on until he turns conservative again.

WELL I GUESS THEY'VE LEARNED THEIR LESSON.
[Excellent catch by Misterstarfish]

The network’s branding retains the signature colour purple, which was established at its inception, but includes a complete refresh of the agency’s brandmark and visual identity. The new brandmark consists of a bespoke wordmark and Mindshare’s new partner symbol. The symbol has been created to reflect the structure and form of Mindshare’s business. It shows two forms coming together to create a new, strong form reflecting Mindshare’s partnerships with clients, suppliers and other agencies. The flow of colour symbolises the flow of creativity across the business and the segmentation mirrors the bringing together of specialist expertise within Mindshare’s “open source” approach to client business which enhances a platform neutral approach. The bespoke wordmark shows Mindshare in upper case [as shown above]. When written in prose Mindshare no longer has the upper case “S” previously used – hence the company’s name will now be written Mindshare and not MindShare. In visual form on the printed page, this will represent the agency’s new simplified approach, re-engineering its structure from more than a dozen separate specialist departments to four integrated, collaborative groups: Client Leadership, Business Planning, Invention and The Exchange. The bold new brandmark expresses Mindshare’s progressive attitude to new technology and the connected way in which the network views the media landscape.

Idiots. [via AgencySpy]

For the eighth year in a row Coke is the world's best brand, (drug joke). The biggest gainers this year were Google, Apple, and Amazon; the group of biggest losers included financial brands like Merrill Lynch (#1 loser with a bullet!), Morgan Stanley, and Citi. As you would expect.

Also plunging into massive suckdom: Ford and The Gap.

The lesson here is that in order to have a strong band, be massive yet innocuous-to-boring. I am now a brand consultant. Here's the top 20:

[Design You Trust via Cityfile]

One official says the company has tried to walk a fine line with its response, maintaining the chain's wholesome image without alienating potential customers. "I don't feel comfortable talking about this...because it is a complicated issue for the brand," says Michele Kay, executive vice president of WPP Group's Grey advertising firm, which handles the Olive Garden account.

The purported issue here is whether companies should embrace "rogue" famous fans, even if they're as disreputable as—the two examples actually used—a Playboy model or a rapper. In other words: how does corporate America deal with blacks and loose women?

Olive Garden, of course, is foolish. A blond Playboy model perfectly embodies their outward deliciousness and inner emptiness. Don't let her defect to Applebee's, you fools.

[WSJ; pic via Evil Beet]

McMullan's new "magazine" will be strictly iPhone-only, I guess to keep it out of the hands of the wrong crowd. The "magazine" will be called PMc and feature his own photos, a double shot of self-promotion.

Calling it “the first of its kind,” the bimonthly will be distributed via iTunes for 99 cents per issue. Content will be refreshed daily in order to give readers “an inside look into the glamorous world of Patrick McMullan and his peers.”

Ahem. McMullan's self-described "peers" are presumably actual celebrities, or it's hard to see what attraction this "magazine" would have over, I don't know, ANY OF 1000 (free) WEBSITES. But it's doubtful a little venture like this will help the photographer escape what some who know him say is his intractable problem: the more the celebrities and socialites he shoots treat him as just another photog, the more frustrated he becomes. And McMullan's nerves aren't made for that; he once punched an assistant in the face because his camera wasn't ready, we hear.

This "magazine" may prove dangerous.

[pic via NY Mag]

The press release for the upcoming L.E.S. Fashion Flipside show is below. As you can see, Metro is listed as one of only two sponsors for the show. And [bad designer], last seen trying to sell a copy of his poetry book "America, My Whore" to a reporter from Jewish Week, is listed as the first name under "boutiques." Urgh:

L.E.S. FASHION FLIPSIDE

ECO-FRIENDLY RUNWAY SHOW
AUGUST 17th @ ORCHARD ST (BTWN RIVINGTON & STANTON) FROM 2pm - Late

L.E.S. Fashion Flipside turns Orchard Street into the Lower East Side's nabe-centric answer to uptown's Fashion Week, all with sustainable, eco-friendly and vintage clothing for men and women. Come down to Rivington & Orchard on August 17th to see the Lower East Side's hottest boutiques put their best pump forward!

Historical
David Zarin is doing 'The Real Housewives of NYC' theme with Team Jill apparel
Orchard Corsets
Harris Levy

Eco-Friendly
Moo Shoes
Loli By Reincarnation
Hairy Mary's
David Owens Vintage
Kaight

Boutiques
Apollo Braun
DeMask
Dressing Room
House De Lux
Valley

Menswear
20 Peacocks
Ted's Formal Wear

Complimentary Beauty Lounge will also be present for all of your therapeutic needs.
Including eyebrow threading and massage with beverages provided by Fizzy Lizzy.

Hair by Celebrity Stylist Dana Gibbs of Dana's Loft & Tropical Salon
Jewelry by Wendy Mink and Doyle and Doyle

Press & VIP RSVP - [Redacted]

Sponsored by Metro NY and the The Lower East Side Business Improvement District (LES BID). The Lower East Side Business Improvement District was established in 1992 as a nonprofit economic development organization dedicated to revitalizing the Orchard Street Shopping District while preserving its unique and diverse character.

[via Fashion Indie]

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

[via Adrants]

The big award went to work for Uniqlo, the Japanese clothing retailer that creepily resembles a Far East version of American Apparel. With "Uniqlock," you can watch many Japanese people doing dances while wearing Uniqlo clothes, and that is too revolutionary to be put into words, almost!

"The industry is always talking about viral," said Titanium jury panelist Jean-Remy von Matt, Founder & Member of The Board. "The Uniqlo work is viral branded utility. It's so simple, smart and beautiful. All over the world people have it on their desktops, giving them a brand presence in countries where their products don't even exist."

Just what every company wants: huge popularity "in countries where their products don't even exist." The future is about brand presence, not about making money! Here's a YouTube clip of Uniqlo's [Robot] dancers in action. At least American Apparel ads have naked people.

[Portfolio]

Perez Hilton for Hot Topic

The various items in Hilton's much-ballyhooed clothing line (for chintzy, Clearasil-smeared clothing chain Hot Topic) were criticized for many by being ugly and ridiculous. Which is not true. They are heinously ugly and ridiculous. But the people who read his blog and care about his personality enough to actually think about buying the clothes are stupid so the line could very easily sell well. Plus, Perez has been doing a tour of Hot Topic stores, where the clothing is sold exclusively, doing autograph signings and posing for photos in front of the crappy clothes hut. Though, apparently the appearances aren't going well so far. No one showed up! Because nobody cares. It's another story of internet fame being not quite the same thing as actual real-life fame. Plus, a commenter on Perez's blog says he was horrible:

Hello- I work at the HOT TOPIC where this piece of shit appearted on friday ( I was not working that day but showed up for shit n giggles ) ONLY 7 people showed up.SEVEN.That's it.Mario was BEYOND upset texting and DEMENDING the right water,food,ETC he was a rude royal pain in the ass and BEYOND crass.Talking about scat porn,fisting some kid and otherbest left unsaid topics.My manager was trying to get people to come in to meet Perez by handing out $5 gift cards NO ONE WANTED TO MEET HIM! His mother and sister were there and he seemed to take it out on them (they are both fat BTW and smelled nasty!) anyways he left around 8:45PM without saying goodbye to anyone & looked like he had been crying like the little bitch he is. We sold a grand total of $6.45 of Perez Hilton items between 6PM - 9PM. My manager has already talked about discounting his "line" !

The credibility of this anonymous commenter is not terribly high, obviously, but if it is true it's funny and a little sad and mostly gross (scat!) But Perez's PR person has a different story! He sent us an email yesterday:

I know you guys will write what you want, with out any research but I wanted to let you know that this article is no true at all.

I'm helping launch (along with Hot Topic) Perez's new line. We were all very pleased with the turn out, over 100 people showed up to meet and purchase Perez's new line at the Hollywood and Highland Hot Topic Store. The pictures shown on your site are not accurate. Perez was excited to meet his fans and sign autographs. Everyone from the manager of Hot Topic to a "first day of work" employee stayed to meet Perez after fans left. Perez (Mario) stayed late to hang out with them all and personally thank them for their support, taking pictures, signing personal autographs and getting to know them better.

Perez at Hot Topic clothing line is selling very well at all Hot Topic stores.

Who to believe?? Well, it's probably somewhere in between the two, but either way it doesn't seem like a terribly auspicious beginning to the endeavor. If the line really was selling well and a good time was being had by all at the meet-and-greets, we doubt this flack would bother trying to correct us. We asked the PR drone to provide some, you know, proof that the event was such a success, but they only meekly pointed to this Perez post, which doesn't exactly show a big crowd. It mostly just shows that people who like Perez Hilton are crazy people.

Perez the Record Executive

Remember when we said, one sentence ago, that people who like Perez Hilton are mostly crazy people? That rings true for those fans who turn to Perez for music advice. But there are, sadly, so many of them that, like a pasty young Oprah, he has turned into a man who can actually break new bands. So Warner Bros. is paying him $100,000 a year to do so. At least he's keeping his ethical code strict:

If Mr. Lavandeira sets up formal ties to a record label, can he still be an objective taste-maker? He seems to think so. In an interview last month, he said he would still have the freedom to rave about artists on rival labels and had no obligation to praise acts on Warner Brothers' roster...

"There's no need to trash them," he added. "Unless they do something stupid."

This is pocket change for Warner Bros., but quite a coup for the legitimacy of Perez. Also a sad statement on sheep-like musical tastes of the masses, but whatever. That's the internet for you.

Perez the Musical

An obnoxious blogger play? An inherently bad idea, but probably the most stunning sign of all of the pudgy man's brand power. Why? Because he didn't actually produce it himself. Three otherwise sane young men who paid good money to attend NYU's Tisch School of the Arts are rolling out the play Perez Hilton Saves the Universe (or at least the greater Los Angeles Area) in New York, off-Broadway. Pretty smart move from a business perspective though, because their appeal to his vanity got posted on his site, which is like a quadrillion dollars worth of free PR for what can only be—at best—a sedating way to spend two hours.

Hot Topic, Warner Bros., some random dudes in New York. Do you see the common theme here? All of these Perez-branded products might end up sucking, but that's not really the point. The point is that he's his own publicity machine, which makes him bankable. Until interest inevitably wanes, and Perez is left alone, in a Hot Topic shirt, listening to club music alone.

• Is being chased by Bubble Boy
• Should be on a package of Japanese soap. Cheap Japanese soap.
• Looks like the nameplate on a friendly child robot.
• Would make a poor tattoo.
• Would be removed, if it was in sticker form.
• Would work better on a line of female-targeted snowblowers.
• Secretly sniffs glue.

We really expect more from your genius branding people, Steve Jobs.

(You all can play, too!)

[Manhattan Offender]

[SIGH]

Pabst Blue Ribbon co-opts Naomi Klein and plays on hipsters' idea of independence from the machine:

PBR was more sure-footed: The brewer carefully cultivated its image among the indie crowd by taking great care not to cultivate its image: no ads on local radio, no celebrity endorsements (despite nibbles from Kid Rock) and certainly no TV. PBR's divisional marketing manager, cribbing tactics from Naomi Klein's anti-corporate manifesto, "No Logo" (full of "many good marketing ideas," he told Walker!), worked to make PBR "always look and act the underdog." He was so successful at retaining the brand's cachet (or anti-cachet) that one 28-year-old Oregonian whom Walker interviewed had a foot-square Pabst logo tattooed onto his back. "Pabst is part of my subculture," the kid told the writer, pointing to the absence of Pabst advertising as evidence that "they're not insulting you."

Red Bull spends millions on extreme sports events, but conceals it to retain its cachet:

"The perception that these events don't cost much to produce is good for us," a Red Bull executive told Walker. "We don't want to be seen as having lots of money to spend." Walker attended a kite-boarding exhibition in Miami (enthusiasts of this new, wind-boarding-like sport were aiming to ride from Key West to Cuba) and found that it looked (very intentionally) like a nonevent: no press releases, no onlookers, no news crews, no free samples. (A videotaped press release about the stunt did get picked up on by 40 local TV stations after the fact.)

There is no escaping the system. Stop fooling yourself:

Another young brand-maker he interviewed, the founder of an outfit called Barking Irons, which sells products vaguely connected to the "forgotten" history of New York City, considers his enterprise "a revolution against branding" — by which he means not the rejection of commercial expression but "the elevation of commercial expression." Instead of big-time corporate logos with nothing to say, he offers boutique designs with a message.

[Salon]

Everybody wants IN to the Chinese market. This particularly goes for high-end luxury brands, which are slobbering over the prospect of Chinese people—more than a billion of them!—soon having enough money to start buying their products. As the country gains a stronger middle and upper class, Dior and Armani and Chanel and Vuitton and all their friends are counting on a huge new customer base. Politics be damned!

And all the stars who model for, receive freebies from, or endorse all these brands? They're going to have to shut their traps about Tibet. China accepts no dissent on the issue. The Chinese government will happily blacklist any company foolish enough to publicly raise the issue, and no company would ever do such a thing. Nor will they allow their endorsers to. It's as simple as that. Every major company on earth has, thus far, folded in the face of Chinese totalitarianism, because the promise of their untapped customer base is too good to sacrifice for an abstract political cause. The shareholders want profits, not slogans.

So here's a prediction: In the future, the only Hollywood stars to loudly adopt the Tibet issue will be those who are too old or unpopular to land the juiciest luxury endorsements. Or maybe some of them will willingly ditch their endorsements in order to continue arguing for the cause? Ha ha! Yea, we hope so too. Maybe Richard Gere will stick it out.

Think that's cynical? The same thing has already happened in the sports world. NBA superstar Lebron James refused to sign a letter from ten of his own teammates condemning China's business connection to the atrocities in Darfur. Why? Because he has a $100 million contract with Nike, and the Olympics are coming up in Beijing, and Nike wants a big piece, as well as big peace. Most other big name athletes have already fallen in line as well.

Hopefully the Dalai Lama can do without Beverly Hills.

[Photo via Getty]

In papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court, Victoria's Secret said it wants the court to consider a study it conducted.

The survey found only five of 308 people who bought hair care products associated the word "sexy" with a single company and made any reference to Sexy Hair Concepts and its offerings.

Victoria's Secret, which also introduced the Very Sexy bra, said its study proves "that the word 'sexy' has not acquired distinctiveness among purchasers of hair care products."

To be fair, if Sexy Hair Concepts loses their Sexy monopoly, they will have some serious branding problems. Their product line:

[via WSJ]

Brands that are "Crap": Ford, H&M, Myspace, Mcdonald's, AT&T.

Brands that are "Stupid": Evian, Twitter, YouTube, MTV, Harley-Davidson.

Brands that are "Retarded": Skype, Microsoft, Twitter, MTV, London 2012.

Brands that are "Douchebag": Blackberry, Dodge, BMW, Puma, Corona

Brands that are "Suck": Yahoo, London 2012, Skype, HP, Microsoft

[Brand Tags via WSJ]

Lyrics by Lincoln Spotlight Winner Jael Gadsen, Copywritten 2008

Song Title: Your Season

Verse 1

Have you ever heard a voice in your head?
It's the voice of your heart telling you
"That you have a higher purpose,
Don't let your life be worthless,
Come on you deserve this!"

Some say that your dreams can't come true
They laugh and they call you a fool
And then you get discouraged
And try to find excuses of why you can't do this!

Oh! You gotta reach for your dreams and you'll see!
That everything you need is within your reach!
Your purpose will take you where you need to be!
Listen to your heart and believe.

Verse 2

You decide to give your dreams a try
Deep inside you know it feels right
Then you start to make some headway!
Then all of a sudden road blocks
Keep landing in your pathway!

People talking, money short and, time is wasting, keep the pace man
Cause you gotta be head strong, keep on pushing on
Cause you're a fighter!
Keep reaching higher!

Oh! You gotta reach for your dreams and you'll see!
That everything you need is within your reach!
Your purpose will take you where you need to be!
Listen to your heart and believe.

Keep reaching higher and higher
Don't ignore your desires
You feel this way for a reason
Soon it'll be your SEASON!

Oh-oh-oh!
Listen to your Heart! Oh Oh oh! Within your reach! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

Oh you! Keep reaching higher and higher. Oh you! Keep reaching Higher!
h-i-g-h-e-r.

Everyone employed by Dove "declined to elaborate on what the "color correction entailed," and declined to respond by deadline to phone calls or e-mails to a report from a person familiar with the matter that Mr. Dangin had admitted specifically to removing veins from the images of the women," reports Ad Age. Meanwhile, the New Yorker says that the only inaccurate thing in its story is that it said Dangin retouched photos of women in "undergarments," while in fact he retouched women in nude photos—which would mean he worked on Dove's celebrate-your-natural-body Pro-Age ads, shot by Annie Leibovitz.

It's apparent that the company is hoping that the whole thing will blow over with no lasting effects. And it surely may. But with the New Yorker standing firm, it's hard to take Dove at face value. Here are two of the ads in question:

Charles O. Prince III, Citigroup's former chief executive, wanted something fresh and focused on the theme of financial partnership, these people said. After months of research, the group settled on "Let's Get It Done," an invitation for customers to use more of Citi's services and a rallying cry for employees to get behind its turnaround...

But the tagline fizzled, despite a $30 million budget for the first two months of advertising. Although Citigroup executives maintain it tested well with customers, many employees, from senior bankers to security guards, were uninspired. The tagline also sounded like the "Git-R-Done" riff from the blue-collar comedian Larry the Cable Guy.

You might be a troubled CEO if...

[NYT]

Christian Group Denounces Starbucks

Over New Logo of Naked Mermaid

(San Diego, CA) Starbucks has recently introduced a new version of their logo which features a topless mermaid with her legs spread, which has caused outrage from a nation wide Christian media watchdog organization. The Resistance, with has over 3000 members nationwide, is boycotting Starbucks across the country saying their new logo is inappropriate.

The Starbucks logo has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute, explains Mark Dice, founder of the group. Need I say more? It's extremely poor taste, and the company might as well call themselves, Slutbucks.

The all-brown logo is a replica of the one the chain used when it opened its first store in Pike Place in Seattle in 1971. The woman is actually a siren, not a mermaid, which in Greek mythology lures people to them with their beautiful songs, and then kills them, explains Dice.

The Resistance has made international news for rebuking various Hollywood celebrities for their ridiculous behavior, including Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, 50 Cent, Tom Cruise and others. They also demanded that Duke University change the name of their Blue Devils sports team to something not offensive to the Christian community.

# # #

[What about asking them for some lemons while you're at it, Resistance?]

Coach, along with an industry trade group, had a PR firm develop a program designed to get college kids to join an anti-counterfeiting campaign. They put together a packet of materials to pass to colleges to help them develop the curriculum for a PR class, and a company like Coach would foot the bill. Hunter College signed on, and the school's president pushed a teacher into teaching the class, against his wishes.

More specifically, some faculty at Hunter, part of the City University of New York system, see the class as an example of corporate encroachment on campus and criticize the school's administration, which allegedly demanded that the Coach-sponsored program be offered as a class. Critics claim the motive was to butter up Coach's CEO, Lew Frankfort, a Hunter alumnus, who several months later donated $1 million to the school.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the class ended up developing a PR campaign that featured fake fliers posted around campus promoting a sob story of a fake girl named "Heidi Cee," who had purportedly lost a Coach bag that an ex-boyfriend now serving in Iraq had given her. The class made a fake blog and fake Facebook and MySpace profiles for "Heidi." The blog is impressively overwrought and intricate, with a bunch of posts about her supposedly spontaneous anti-counterfeiting campaign interspersed with typical college student (fake) blog crap. Here, she gets interested in the cause:

U should google the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition... its where I learned most of this stuff. The have pictures that show you how to tell a real from a fake. They have a bunch of other companies that have joined the cause... lol kinda ironic, but COACH is on the list too!

LOL that is the people who iz paying to sponsor ur fake class and ur fake blog, LOL! Full disclosure sux!

Pretty lowdown and dirty, overall. Read the whole piece at Adweek right now, and then go buy some counterfeit Coach bags in retribution.

Visitors are able to determine their personal flavor profiles with the help of a five-question quiz, and they can request free samples before committing to a purchase.

"We want to make people understand that if you tried one [blend] and you didn't like it, it wasn't the right blend for you," said Ms. Pinero. "That doesn't mean the whole brand isn't right for you."

My flavor profile is Breakfast Blend!

Plus there's barista art (!!!), like this:

[pics via Daily Mail UK]

She describes herself as "Andy Warhol's Number One Publicity Protege," and she has parlayed her connection with the pop artist into a successful career. She worked at Interview Magazine and CBS Records before founding her own firm, and today she's one of the city's go-to agencies for celebrities. She even helped take Usher "to another level"! So there's that. There's no doubt she's much more likely to help launch Dupre on her own career than to serve as a solid grey corporate well between her and the media, a role Eliot Spitzer's own chosen PR firm is well suited to play.

Also, as Emily Gould discovered, Susan Blond has wild hair. And she's had her web domain name snatched by incompetent rival superflack Ronn [sic] Torossian, putting her in bad company.

We have an email in to SBI to find out what they plan to do for Dupre, and we'll let you know if we hear back.

*Also notable: the Blackberry brand increased in value by almost 400% over the past year. Scary.

[via Millward Brown/ Ad Age]

McD's has launched UnSnobbyCoffee.com, a site targeted to Seattle-area consumers who are fed up with all those snobby coffee chains. Do such consumers exist in Seattle? McD's is betting they do, and they're trying to lure them in with a coupon for a free, unsobby espresso. From a "McCafe." On the site, you can also put together an absolutely devilish madlibs-style "intervention" note for a friend, telling them to stop buying those "hoity-toity" drinks and head on down to McD's for a "bootylicious" espresso beverage! Outrageous!

At the end of the day, most Seattle residents would rather have a coupon for free crystal meth.