Good Week/Bad Week in Branding

Good Week: McDonalds – In its biggest nod yet to the growing national appetite for healthy foods, the world’s largest “restaurant” chain used TV spots and full-page ads in numerous big-city newspapers to announce that it’s removed artificial preservatives from its “chicken” McNuggets and a number of breakfast items and will no longer use high fructose corn syrup in its sandwich buns. Excited nutritionists now expect McDonald’s food will pack nearly the same nutritional punch as the paper and plastic it’s wrapped in. Doo doo doo doo doo, I’m loathin’ it!

Bad Week: Nike – The McDonald’s of sports equipment and apparel announced plans to abandon its production of golf equipment, citing shrinking revenues from that division. In a statement, Nike said that it would continue to focus on growing its golf apparel division, which already counts many of the world’s top-ranked professionals as endorsers. So, duffers, you know what this means: Nike will still put its swoosh logo on your pants and shirts. But not on your balls.

Worse Week: Ford – The Nike of automobiles announced a recall of 830,000 cars, vans and SUVs in the U.S. and Mexico due to faulty door-latch parts that can result in doors opening while the cars are moving. So when the sleazy salesman asks: “What’s it gonna take to get you in this Mustang?,” you should ask: “What’s it gonna take to keep me in this Mustang?”