Leon Leonwood Bean sold his first pair of boots back in 1912 — and it swiftly kicked him, and his pride, right back. Of the first 100 pairs he sold, 90 were returned because the leather separated, according to the Associated Press.

Rather than call it quits, his solution proved to be the launch of a venerable brand that turns 100 on January 18th: a money-back guarantee, for which he borrowed some cash and started over again, opening his iconic store in Freeport, Maine, five years later.

The outdoorsman’s genius, clearly, was in his marketing. He obtained Maine’s list of people with hunting licenses who lived out-of-state and sent them notices about the boot. Since then, Bean has done well as a catalog merchant and now online. According to the AP's report on the anniversary, the “privately held company expects to have $1.5 billion in sales in its 2011 fiscal year.”

To celebrate the L.L.Bean brand centenary, from Maine to Manhattan, the public will be treated to the sight of a massive version of the company’s hunting boot rolling through the streets this week. Forget the Batmobile — L.L. would no doubt get a chuckle from the Bootmobile, which will be parked in New York's Times Square from 1pm to 3pm on Wednesday.Continue reading...

Some snooty New York types may think Toronto is too square. The city "has no passion, no ambition," wrote one columnist recently, in a much-circulated Toronto Life Magazine essay.

The Drake Hotel is challenging that notion.

Opened in 2008, the Drake Hotel's Drake General Store has "played with the notion of taking the traditional hotel gift shop and re-imagining it in a contemporary and varied urban context." The General Store's latest campaign does just that. Marvelously. Continue reading...

So, Steve Jobs has stepped down as CEO of Apple so he can take care of himself as he struggles with health issues -- the full dimensions of which have not been disclosed -- that have worried shareholders and Apple-lovers. He’s leaving behind a zillion contented Apple users around the globe, an army of employees who have given him a 97 percent approval rating (the third-highest CEO) on Glasdoor.com, and a boatload of business execs who are disappointed to see him disappear.

But as Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak points out, Jobs needs some time for himself: "I mean, just your time, everybody wants you day and night, that's what I mean by sacrifices,” Wozniak said, according to The Unofficial Apple Weblog. “It takes so much out of anyone to be under just constant pressure and demands like that. Steve needs now to just have some 'Steve time.' He deserves it."

Jobs plans to stay on in the newly created role of chairman. In an era where CEOs serve routinely as villains, it's rather amazing to witness the emotional outpouring.Continue reading...

While America was busy looking for the birth certificate, watching the royal wedding, and celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden, a quiet revolution was taking place. After years and years of dominance by brands such as Dannon and Yoplait, the yogurt category came to be owned, seemingly overnight, by Chobani. In fact, Chobani's rise to become the best selling yogurt brand in the US was so fast, the brand is facing a whole new challenge.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola UK is running the above commercial, featuring its classic anthem, as part of its 125th anniversary celebrations leading up to the actual day on May 8th.

A special section of its UK website is tracking the 125th related marketing and promotions, including commemorative packaging, in-store signage and outdoor ads, digital marketing (such as a retro poster maker) on the Coke Zone and social marketing on Facebook and Twitter.

This is for marketers who believe that advertising featuring stereotypically petty backbiting between men and women, humor involving nudity, nutshots or passed gas or sarcastic meta-absurdity like the Old Spice Guy is good brand building.

Above is a video put together by the son of a motorcycle owner. It is the greatest brand-building commercial of all time and BMW should buy rights to it immediately and show it all over the world forever.Continue reading...

New Yorkers and visitors may have (literally) caught this holiday marketing stunt by American Airlines, which made over a NYC subway "S" train in its distinctive livery.

The city's Metropolitan Transit Authority's short-run S train, a three-car shuttle service between two 42nd Street stations (Grand Central and Times Square), is a favorite takeover target by marketers.Continue reading...

The Art of Shaving (yup, that's the brand's name) is a 14-year-old luxury brand sold in its own US stores (over 40 "Shaving Shops," some of which have "Barber Spas") and in such tony retailers as Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus.

Its approach to shaving as an art is decidedly low-tech but it features a high-end product line (shaving brushes sell from $55 to $1,200 each). The company pitches shaving as a four-step process — prepare, lather, shave, moisturize — and sells products for each stage.

Its old school tradition based on "the brotherhood" of shaving (although it does cater to women, too) is a message it's now rolling out across traditional and social media. The brand is embarking on its first-ever advertising campaign, and promoting a pro-social push on social media with a heavy-hitting celeb endorsement (the New York Yankees' Nick Swisher) in support of the Movember movement.Continue reading...