What a kerfuffle a year-end promo can make. L'Oreal's recent new year promo, above, sparked rumors that it was replacing global brand ambassador Aishwarya Rai, the Bollywood actress and former Miss World, with younger Indian actress/model Freida Pinto, who rose to fame in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire.

Perish the thought, per this statement by the cosmetics giant: 

"We are shocked and surprised to read in some sections of the media/press about Ms. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being replaced as the face of L'Oreal Paris... Ms. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan continues to be our valued spokesperson, as she has since 2000. While she remains an integral part of the L'Oreal Paris world wide Dream Team, she was unfortunately unavailable for our New Year commercial shoot due to prior commitments. She is one of the most iconic women of our times and is certainly the face of L'Oreal Paris internationally and in India for a range of products which include campaigns for Total Repair 5, Excellence Crème, Color Riche, Hydrafresh."

Other current L'Oreal celebrity endorsers include Beyonce, Diane Kruger, Jane Fonda, Rachel Weisz, Gerard Butler, Eva Longoria and Jennifer Lopez.

One of the toughest challenges facing brand strategists is insurance.

For starters, it's not sexy. Often purchased solely on price, the true brand value of an insurance company does not become apparent until the day it is needed. For many, who will never "need" their insurance company on any significant way, that day never comes, leaving price sensitivities the primary brand identifier. Is it any surprise insurance advertising so often focuses on "saving more"?

One tactic branders use is create a memorable pitch man. The theory is that a stand-out character as the face of the brand helps with recall and brand association, and overrides consumers' fixation on costs by creating a memorable brand halo. That brand association need not even be an emotionally positive one. But all these pitchmen (-women, -critters) floating around can cause confusion.

So we put together an insurance branding quiz to show how it works. Can you identify the faces of a dozen major insurance brands?Continue reading...

When the Tiger Woods scandal broke, some marketers featuring the golf star couldn't distance themselves from him fast enough, while others tried to weather the storm. Woods reportedly dropped around $32 million in sponsorship money as a result of his marital meanderings.

But Woods was just one high-profile example of the risk associated with using a celebrity for a product endorsement. British soccer star Wayne Rooney, famously skewered by the British press for his lascivious liaisons, will be summarily dumped from a Coca-Cola campaign in the U.S. next year.

That accounts for an increase in something known as 'disgrace' insurance. No surprise, brands want their backs covered when their ambassadors don't keep theirs covered.Continue reading...

Twitter recently got into the wine business, collaborating with Crushpad, a Napa Valley winemaker, on Fledgling Wine as a cleverly-labeled fundraiser for San Francisco's Room to Read charity. But that's not what Twitter cofounder Biz Stone is promoting in his first TV commercial, above — a paid endorsement for Stoli vodka. Evidently, he's never heard the classic Woody Allen routine.

ING Direct's new campaign in Australia features a suave orangutan named Charles.

The brand-appropriately orange-tressed character replaces Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, who appeared in commercials (see one after the jump) and served as the virtual host for its rebranded website.

Christian Bohlke, ING Direct’s head of branding and communications, tells mUmBRELLA: “Billy has been essential in building ING Direct to become a household brand (in Australia). Through Charles – who will be a customer of ING Direct – we will be able to get more specific about our offers and build on the full range of products and services we have to offer.”Continue reading...

American Super Bowl champ Troy Polamalu has the most unforgettable hair in the NFL. It's now the priciest, too.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' star, two years into his endorsement deal for Procter & Gamble's Head & Shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo brand, is so renowned for his lustrous locks that P&G has taken out a $1 million insurance policy with Lloyd's of London on his trademark mane of black ringlets.

To quote Reuters, "no details were given of exactly what damage to his hair would trigger a claim on the insurance policy."

Part-time Gillette spokesman (and trickster?) and full-time Swiss tennis champ Roger Federer's endorsement deals are expanding, even though he's no longer the world's #1 tennis player.

He debuted on last night's Emmy Awards telecast as the "global ambassador" of Lindt, the Swiss chocolatier, with a spot for its Lindor Truffles brand. (See the extended version of his Lindor ad after the jump, along with a behind-the-scenes look, with more on Facebook.)

Making a rare comment about newly divorced pal Tiger Woods, Federer was quoted over the weekend saying that he and Woods would rise again. He's eyeing his sixth title at the US Open, where he faces tough competition from current men's tennis #1, Rafael Nadal.Continue reading...

The Quaker Oats Company has been around for more than 130 years — and its owner, Pepsico, wants to make sure it's still here a hundred years from now.

The problem for Quaker isn't brand awareness. That illustration of the benevolent Colonial Quaker with his flowing white hair is universally recognized. Rather, it's the fact that the brand has been battered by a recession in which consumers have selected less expensive breakfast alternatives. As a result, Quaker's hot and cold cereal sales have dropped.

That's why the company is launching a new "Amazing Mornings" marketing campaign in the U.S. beginning Sept. 1 with the theme, "Does Your Breakfast Make You Amazing?"Continue reading...