Since this month is all about ‘making the invisible visible’ and after reading Georgia’s post “Waking your eyes & mind” about seeing new things in plain site, I’ve been on the look out for good examples of brands who made their differences more visible, and thereby more compelling.

Today, I was reminded of this example from Scott paper tissue, when they launched their ‘tubeless’ toilet paper rolls. The agency who created this, Tris3ct (www.tris3ct.com), said the goal was to challenge ‘a low interest category’ and to ‘dramatize the number of tubes thrown away annually.’ Here is the spot they created to ‘free the tubes,’ called ‘Tube Empire’:

A very effective piece of communication that prompts us all to reconsider the value of those otherwise invisible cardboard tubes…we at least they’re invisible until you get to the end of the roll!

If you want to see the rest of the campaign, click here.

With thanks to The Kernel Brewery, Neals Yard Dairy and The Woolpack.

However, I learned recently, that Chick-fil-a has issued a ‘cease and desist’ letter to a Vermont Farmer who wants the world to eat more Kale and sells t-shirts with the slogan ‘Eat More Kale’. C-F-A claims that “Eat More…” — whether it’s chicken, kale or anything else — is part of its registered trademark. So they are demanding that the farmer stop using the phrase and shut down his website, www.eatmorekale.com.

Seems like Chick-fil-a lost sight of an important principle should you choose to pick a fight — you need to pick on someone or something BIGGER than you. Otherwise, you’ll just come across as a big, old corporate bully who’s acting more like a conservative market leader rather than the ‘Irreverent Maverick’ Challenger they portray themselves as in their consumer communications.

I think Chick-fil-a needs to rethink this move, before it backfires on them in this new world of social media and advocacy. Just look at the comments out there already, and it’s pretty clear they are picking the wrong fight. Perhaps they should heed the wise words of Wilt Chamberlain, who famously said ‘Nobody roots for Goliath,’ and go back to focusing on their fight with Beef where they look like the underdog David to McDonald’s Goliath.

To learn and read more about this story, AMEX small business wrote a good article describing the scuffle http://www.openforum.com/articles/why-is-a-fast-food-giant-going-after-a-one-man-business?extlink=sm-openforum-tw

I saw this poster outside the Nordstrom in the Montgomery Westfield mall*, MD, on Monday last week.

It’s very simple, and I’m sure it’s part of a larger strategy. Also by acknowledging the “Holidays”, you’re kind of saying you are celebrating it etc.

But I’m so glad someone has decided that Christmas doesn’t need to start in September.

That said, I’d love a Pret Christmas sandwich if anyone is going past.

*By the way, the Montgomery Westfield mall is over 1,200,000 sqft in size and not one square foot is dedicated to books or magazines. Weird. Kindles and tablets on everyone’s Christmas list?

This is a simply great piece of innovation, which came from one man noticing a everyday problem that was so ingrained that nobody even realised it was a problem. That man happened to be Tony Fadell the man behind 18 generations of the iPod, so not only does it have intuitive functionality but it builds desire around a utility.

It just shows what you can do when you interrogate assumptions about everyday things around you.

Can I have one please?

http://www.nest.com/

The ‘Take Less’ campaign pokes fun at the big pharmaceutical giants who use this strategy and Help boldly proclaim instead, that what we actually need is moderation and to take less, not more. Less drugs, less coatings, less unnecessary dyes, and less pseudo-science nonsense in the messages we recieve.

As part of the campaign they teamed up with a design agency and came up with parody products and advertisements that would mimic the industry convention in the hyperbole and ‘excesses’ seen in naming and packaging design.

Help have always held the view that the category is noisy, confusing and is often condescending in its messaging, but this is a witty and powerful way for Help to strongly reaffirm their positioning as that of the industry rebel, the brand who is honest, open and straight talking.

The campaign also helps sharpen and refine their point of view that little bit more, creating greater distance between themselves and the rest of the category, the aim of every great challenger.