Brands that need a makeover

Sometimes you see an advertising campaign and cringe. "What were they thinking?", "Do they really think they're going to sell products?" "Where's the TV remote, I can't watch this advert?" Whilst there are a lot of brands in the world that manage to attract the consumer's attention in a good way, there are some brands that are in desperate need of a makeover. They often have a negative stereotype connected to them, a stigma, somewhere they have gone wrong and the need for rebranding is urgent.


Adverts have the ability to excite the consumer, take for instance the Christmas Coca Cola adverts. When sat around the TV in early December and you see the bright lorries winding their way through the countryside to the sound of "Holidays are coming, holidays are coming", people often scream at the TV, shouting "It's Christmas, the Coca Cola advert has been on". Then you look at your Facebook and Twitter,  people's statuses filled with, "OMG it's officially Christmas, just seen the Coca Cola advert". You know it's true. This advert has become iconic, people remember it for the right reasons.

(mancunianmatters.co.uk)

Some of the best adverts invite the consumer to laugh with them, a commercial created with humour in mind. Everyone enjoys having a chuckle normally and adverts can often be seen as the boring bit in between your favourite show, so why not make the viewer laugh with you. Nonetheless, never allow the viewer to laugh at you, create a campaign that is so bad people find it funny in the wrong way or have to leave the room. They don't buy the product because the brand has been presented so badly. I wish to look at several brands that need to sit in that makeup chair and perhaps have an appointment with cosmetic surgeon, they need rebranding.


Lambrini


Ask yourself the first thing you think of when you see the word, Lambrini. It certainly has a stigma attached to it, not the classiest of drinks perhaps? Associated with women getting drunk? It has always been targeted towards women and thus it isn't seen as "man's" drink. I entered Lambrini into the urban dictionary and saw the notion of being Lambrinified meaning, "To become intoxicated by means of cheap wine abuse". Not the best image for a brand. Their recent advert again perpetuates this notion of it being a drink for women, focusing on them in the workplace and at home. That's no problem, targeting and relating to its market. Nonetheless, these women suddenly end up on the back of an open top double decker bus singing, "I am, what I am. I'm not entirely sure what they were trying to accomplish but they certainly made a cheesy advert  that made an episode of Glee look like The Sopranos. Lambrini needs a makeover, it has to throw away the stigma of, "a drink for lightweights", " so cheap and horrible but who cares it gets you drunk." Is that really a good brand image?





Durham Students Union


 Durham University is often seen as one of the best in the country. You'd assume it has fantastic lecture facilities. It does. You'd assume there are gowns and formals? There are. You'd assume that it has a world class student's union. It doesn't. Well at least not yet. To look at the brand, that is the Durham Student's Union, it isn't positive within the student population. Their website is average, their interaction with students isn't great and the events they provide students were so badly attended they had to stop. They struggle to advertise to their market. Not the sign of a good brand. Other local clubs advertise and market their events far better but perhaps the greatest detrimental impact on the Student Union brand is the Student Union building itself. Built by Ove Arup, the architect behind the Sydney Opera House, the Student Union is reminiscent of a nuclear bunker. It is about as welcoming as a opening your front door to find Ann Widdecombe stood there in her nightie with a bottle of Lambrini in her hand. The building is part of the brand. With plans to redevelop the building, this will aid to redevelop the rest of the brand. A much needed rebranding for an organisation that has a dangerous stigma, where students rarely see the point of it.

(mimoa.eu)

Blackburn Rovers


One of four teams to have won the Premier League. A founder of the Football League. The only club where Alan Shearer won a trophy. One would assume Blackburn Rovers as brand looks quite good. Think again. A couple of seasons ago, Rovers were known for being one of the best run clubs in the country but were in need of new owners. Step forward Venkys. Experts in football management? No, chicken farmers. What could go wrong, I hear you ask. Not only have Venkys and the man they employed to manage the team, Steve Kean, ruined the team on the football pitch but they have decimated a brand. They supposedly bought Blackburn Rovers to enhance their own brand. Nevertheless, by destroying the brand of Blackburn Rovers they have seriously impacted the reputation of their own brand.  They have made Blackburn Rovers into a laughing stock within the football world, promised exciting players and Champions League football. When in fact, they've signed poor players and are likely to be playing Championship football. Their public relations have been abysmal, with little communication with fans or if any, patronising statements. For instance, Venkys suggested Blackburn Rovers was their "baby". Call social services, they're awful parents. They've decimated a respected brand in football. Blackburn Rovers is an embarrassing brand now, just look at the advert below. The best way to rebrand Blackburn Rovers is for Venkys to sell the club to new owners.







I hope these three very different examples illustrate how important advertising campaigns and maintaining a brand image is. Here is an added extra, which I feel represents one of the worst adverts ever made: