Here comes the summer
May 27, 2008
Festivals get a wake up call
What?: As the festival season draws near, brand involvement starts to heat up:
The Gaymer Cider Company is launching Gaymer’s Grassroots Gigs, which takes acts Read more
Quick on the brand draw
May 27, 2008
The essence of country
What?: Country star Tim McGraw is giving consumers a taste (and smell) of his lifestyle:
Wal-Mart stores nationwide are set to stock limited-edition Tim McGraw Spicy Jalapeño Fritos. Read more
Beach bouyed by music
May 21, 2008
Surf’s up for Asian bands
What?: Quicksilver – a leading sports lifestyle company – is promoting some of Asia’s biggest music acts via major surf events such as the Quiksilver Open Keramas in Bali, Indonesia and Quiksilver Revolution 2.0 in Sunway Lagoon, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Read more
Booze Armada
April 2, 2008
Music and brands embark on a deeper relationship
What?: As one-hit-wonder music campaigns start to offer little in the way of real benefits for brands, deeper campaigns take root:
Groove Armada have become the latest band to actively sidestep the label system, embarking instead on a groundbreaking relationship with a major alcohol brand. Read more
Standing room only
March 19, 2008
Corsa puts on its Sunday best
What?: Vauxhall Corsa is teaming up with BBC Radio 1’s Rob Da Bank for a series of intimate indoor festival events, entitled Bandstand. The events – which promise to be “quintessentially British” – take place on 3rd May in London and 10th May in Liverpool and will feature Mark Ronson, Annie Mac, Late Of The Pier and The Cuban Brothers amongst others. Read more
As cold as ice
March 19, 2008
Going Arctic without the monkeys
What?: British Sea Power are to donate the proceeds from the sale of a special range of merchandise (a T-shirt and sew-on patch) to help finance a charitable arctic expedition. The group has lent its name to geologist Gareth Ellis’ team, which is entering the 350-mile Polar Challenge race to the magnetic North Pole. Read more
Easter Bunny smack down
March 19, 2008
What?: Snoop Dogg and John Legend are to appear at this year’s WWE WrestleMania. John Legend will kick start the event by singing ‘America The Beautiful’, while Snoop will act as ring announcer for the Playboy girl fight that is BunnyMania. Snoop is clearly in his element here, but John Legend seems a little badly positioned in this musical tag team.
Brands, Bands and Hands
January 24, 2008
Will a brand makeover hide the cracks at EMI?
What?: EMI has sat too long in its old school music industry easy chair, comfortably resting not only on its laurels but also on top of a £1.3B copyright catalogue it had hidden under the mattress for a rainy day. Suddenly it’s pouring (EMI lost £288.5M in 2007) and Terra Firma is standing at the door, briefcase and umbrella in hand, ready to bail it out. Read more
In the drink
December 21, 2007
Propping up the branded bar this Christmas
What?: Alcohol and music campaigns could really do with sobering up. Read more
Ring my Mel
November 21, 2007
Spice Girl breaks record
What?: Mel B went to Toronto recently to break the world record for the most mobile phones ringing simultaneously, part of the Spice girl’s endorsement of Virgin Mobile. One Virgin representative said to the crowd of bewildered onlookers, “Remember, this record will be the pride of the city, the pride of the country”. I’m DNA testing this campaign and I hope it’s not one of mine.
