Chapter six:
Deep Thoughts
our blog
Sign up for our occasional newsletter
Who Do You Love?
There were compelling reasons to send Juan Valdez off to the old folks home for advertising ex-celebs. The fictional coffee-growing icon had been featured in…
Mascot Makeover
When Pepsico wanted to differentiate its Mug root beer from competing products, it called David Altschul, the co-founder of a small marketing firm called Character…
Licensology: Character Principles
In marketing, the most important function of a brand character is to serve as a point of emotional connection between the brand and its audience.
Refilling the Role of Juan Valdez
After 37 years, Carlos Sanchez is hanging up his poncho. What’s that? You say you’ve never heard of him? Well, you probably do know his…
The Story of Os
More than 60 years ago, Cheerios were introduced to a cereal aisle far less abundant with choices than the one we know today. Cheerios …
Something Fishy This Way Comes
Move over, cast of “Four Kings.” Make way, Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. Step aside, Four Seasons. Here comes a quartet of snack-cracker characters to…
Character Longevity
The corner of Madison and Vine is littered with the bones of characters whose handlers thought they could “contemporize” them to make them more relevant.
The Light and the Dark of Walmart
Podcast on CMO (mp3 file), by David Altschul There was an item in Business Week this week about a war-room that Walmart has put together which is
Character Study
Take a minute to think about the Trix Rabbit. Not easy, mind you. He’s just an advertising image, a means to sell cereal to children…
Waiting for Dinner on the Apprentice
This Thursday, the task assigned by Donald Trump to his candidates on the Apprentice is to design a character for the Dairy Queen Blizzard, along…
Problems Worth Solving
Most new products are originally designed to serve a functional need. Marketers are brought in—often after the fact—and charged with fashioning a veneer…
The Balancing Act of Building a Character
Virtually every brand character is originally created as a tactical, short-term effort to solve a specific advertising problem. But if the character strikes a chord…