Procter & Gamble had a good thing going with its mom-focused global campaign heading into the London Summer Olympics, and so like the world-class marketers they are, the company is trying to extend the string of positive impressions throughout the Games.

To that end, P&G CEO Bob McDonald and Global Brand Building Officer Marc Pritchard joined the mothers of several Olympic athletes and other P&G executives to virtually "ring" the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange "remotely" — from the P&G Family Home pavilion in London.Continue reading...

Chuck E. Cheese, the namesake mascot (mousecot?) of the pizza restaurant/kids arcade chain that was founded by the founder of Atari, is getting a makeover.

Following a teaser campaign on Facebook, the cartoon-like kid-appealing critter is getting hipper and adding some rock star 'tude (which keeping the purple and green t-shirt) via a national ad campaign in the U.S. that will break on July 5th. The new voice of Chuck also brings rock star cred to the character: Jaret Reddick, the lead singer of Bowling for Soup.

According to comments by CEC Entertainment CMO Scott McDaniel to Screen, the goal of the mascot refresh is to 

"contemporize Chuck E. Cheese in a very respectful and engaging fashion. Chuck E. is the hero at the heart of our restaurants. For the first time in years, we’re changing the way we communicate with our key patrons – kids.” The “Chuck E. Rocks” campaign comprises television, digital and in-store components. Four TV spots, “Belonging,” “Fun,” “Power” and “Birthdays,” each named for something a child experiences at Chuck E. Cheese’s, showcase kids doing what they do best at Chuck E. Cheese’s – having fun."Continue reading...

Kellogg's Crunchy Nut cereal introduced a new brand mascot, the tongue-in-cheek masked superhero "The Crunchy Nut," with a cameo on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night — watch it below.Continue reading...

Twitter unveiled a new logo today — a simplified version of "Larry," its iconic blue bird, that's slimmer, streamlined (and bald), and looking up — that's been in development for nearly two years. Larry, by the way, is also the internal nickname for Quaker Oats' mascot, who also just revealed a slimmer physique.

A blog post by Twitter's creative director Doug Bowman says that "from now on, this bird will be the universally recognizable symbol of Twitter," and that "there's no longer a need for text, bubbled typefaces, or a lowercase 't' to represent Twitter." (Indeed, Twitter.com has only shown a bird logo — Larry's tonsured, slightly chunkier iteration — since last December.) The company added:

Our new bird grows out of love for ornithology, design within creative constraints, and simple geometry. This bird is crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles — similar to how your networks, interests and ideas connect and intersect with peers and friends. Whether soaring high above the earth to take in a broad view, or flocking with other birds to achieve a common purpose, a bird in flight is the ultimate representation of freedom, hope and limitless possibility.

The logo was announced with a hashtag, of course — #twitterbird. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted, "One simple bird, from just three simple circles. I'm proud of the team for this beautiful new representation. ‪#simplify‬"

More details in the usage guidelines and video below.Continue reading...

Raisins went mainstream thanks to the classic California Raisins television claymation commercial in the 1980's featuring I Heard it Through the Grapevine as its signature anthem.

Fast forward to 2012 and raisins are raising interest once again with the Sun-Maid Raisin Girl’s launch on Facebook to help celebrate the brand's 100th anniversary. That's her doing yoga on the beach, above — she's presumably a pro at the sunrise salutation, too.

"While the process of making raisins and dried fruits has remained relatively unchanged over the past century, information technology and international commerce continue to close the distance between the grapevine and consumer," stated Sun-Maid President Barry Kriebel.Continue reading...

While there's plenty of attention given to getting children not to eat junk food, as a countermeasure to childhood obesity many brands are putting substantial efforts into persuading kids to eat healthier. This week two companies — one a veteran of "better-for-you" foods, the other not heralded for nutritious fare — have stepped forward to promote childhood consumption of fruit and vegetables.

McDonald's is the unlikelier player here. McDonald's UK is getting ready to launch a fizzy drink for children as an option with its Happy Meal packs on May 16th that claims to provide one of the recommended five-a-day portions of fruits and vegetables.Continue reading...

The Michael J. Fox Foundation made headlines last fall with a limited-edition collection of Nike shoes inspired by the actor's Back to the Future character. The high-profile auction raised $9.4 million for the foundation, the largest private funder of Parkinson's Disease research in the world.

Fox's foundation is now heading into its own future with a new look and feel, one prompted by its humble founder, who wants to take the focus off himself and shine a spotlight onto the community of people helping find a cure for P.D.

Founded in 2000, the Foundation has just unveiled the first logo refresh in its history. "While our mission remains exclusively to speed research progress, we are increasingly a portal to engagement for the PD community at large — not just researchers but patients, their loved ones, physicians and members of the general publich who are inspired to give back," writes Holly Barkhymer, the organization's VP of marketing and communications, in a blog post.

The logo refresh features an updated font, simplified color scheme and a few tweaks to its iconic fox, who now features a dashing tipped tail and has added an ear. "We adore our fox, and it was very clear to us that the fox would remain," Barkyhmer told brandchannel. "One of the goals of the refresh was to make sure that people saw that the fox is a fox with a second ear and more defined tail. He's still fleet, intuitive, cunning, resourceful and smart."Continue reading...

What does a brand do when most of its competitors are recasting or overhauling themselves in a highly competitive industry? If you're McDonald's, well, you keep doing what you've been doing. Because everyone else is — still — trying to catch you.

And as he takes over from Jim Skinner as skipper of a smooth-sailing ship in a high-profile year with the London 2012 Olympics looming, new CEO Don Thompson has pledged to do exactly that: double down on the fundamentals that have enabled McDonald's basically to skate above the Great Recession and global economic stagnation even since then, and keep finding ways to improve its brand, menu and customer experience.Continue reading...