Do these containers seem similar to you? Confusingly similar? That is what Coca-Cola, owner of Simply Orange, is claiming. In a recently filed trade dress and patent infringement suit Coca-Cola claims that its Simply Orange container is nonfunctional, contains a patented closure lid, and the new Trop50 packaging is likely to deceive and confuse customers. PepsiCo… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Tropicana
Gap, Tropicana, The Wall Street Journal, and the 1968 Tet Offensive
Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Product Packagingby James Mahoney, Creative director/writer at Razor’s Edge Communications What does a 42-year-old military offensive have to do with branding and social media? Quite a bit, as it happens. Consider four seemingly unrelated situations: First, clothing purveyor Gap experienced an alleged misadventure recently when it unveiled a "new logo" on its website, only to reinstate… Continue Reading
Product Packaging Trends: Less is Less
Posted in Food, Goodwill, Product PackagingI laughed when I saw Steve’s post from earlier this week–he used one of my favorite phrases, which is a bit hackneyed and trite, but only because it is a great phrase: "less is more." I laughed because of what I intended to publish today, and that is a recent trend in product packaging, where… Continue Reading
Did You Get the Memo, Less is More?
Posted in Advertising, Almost Advice, Branding, Marketing, Product Packaging, Trademarks, TruncationA couple of days ago, Brandweek featured an interview of Peter Clarke, CEO and founder of Product Ventures, a Fairfield, Connecticut design firm that has created packaging for Heinz, Folgers and Febreze, among other brands: Brandweek: You believe that packaging has become simpler of late. Can you describe what you mean by that? Peter Clarke:… Continue Reading
I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff …
Posted in AdvertisingPuffing, according to Black’s Law Dictionary, is defined as: The expression of an exagerrated opinion — as opposed to a factual representation — with the intent to sell a good or service. Puffing, as a legal principle, has recently received a fair amount of attention as a result of Domino’s new ad campaign. Puffing generally… Continue Reading
G Doesn’t Grasp Successful Marketing
Posted in AlphaWatch, Branding, Food, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Product Packaging, TrademarksIn November, I wrote about how Gatorade’s 2009 re-branding as G has been a complete failure. G was an ill-conceived approach to slowing sales in 2007 and 2008. It damaged brand equity, confused consumers and didn’t reverse the trend of falling unit sales. In the final paragraph of my last blog, I noted that PepsiCo… Continue Reading
An Ode to the Brand of Brands, the King of Cola: Coke
Posted in Guest BloggersDear Coke: I love you. You are an incredible product. You are the Babe Ruth of soft drinks, the proprietor of the word “cola,” and most of all, the brand of all brands. Your brand is not just bulletproof; it’s indestructible—even from self-inflicted damage. Interbrand, the global branding giant, recently valued you at… Continue Reading
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Duets Blog Authors
Steve Baird
Just so you know, I'm all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, "Who owns these brands" and "Did they really register those marks?" More...
Dan Kelly
You can call me a “non-traditional” attorney, which is a polite way of saying that I did not attend law school straight out of college. I spent five of my first six years after college as a junior high school teacher. The other year I worked as an engineer for a large corporation. More...
Sharon Armstrong
Voted most likely to become an actress while in pre-school, I don’t think I surprised anyone by becoming a lawyer, the steadiest professional gig open to those with a flair for the dramatic. More...
Brent Lorentz
Although I wish I could say my path to the law was the result of a lifelong dream or calling, it was more the result mere curiosity and an affinity for leather-bound books. More...
Catlan McCurdy
Having long been told by my parents that I could do or be anything I wanted, I chose at the age of 10 to become an attorney, as it was the career that would most likely lead me to my goal of becoming the first woman POTUS.More...
Tiffany Blofield
Although my initial career path was to be one of the Supremes (not the musically talented ones with platform shoes and sequins, but rather, the nine wearing sensible shoes and pressed black robes in DC), I will likely stay in Minnesota as I have never lived anywhere else. More...
Brad Walz
My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). More...
Susan Perera
Born into the world with an aptitude for science and an affinity for art I found my career path quickly chosen for me. More...
Joy S. Newborg
When I took a personality/career test in high school to determine which path in life I should follow, I was told I should either be in broadcast journalism or law. So after I went to undergraduate school for broadcast journalism and film/television, I went on to obtain my law degree from the University of Minnesota. More...
Laura Gutierrez
An attorney I am not. Though told to become one, I don't possess those qualities needed to be an effective one (I lack confrontation skills, and although I can write a great argumentative essay, I can’t argue outside a sheet of paper). More...