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Will Harvard be the new Hollister?

by Mars Riley After 373 years, Harvard University has started to actively brand its name. One would think the world’s most famous university wouldn’t need to differentiate itself from the other institutions of higher learning; yet they are going through great lengths to do so. The reason: money (isn’t it always?). Although Harvard has the…

Jordan adds fuel to the fire

by Mars Riley On Friday, Michael Jordan was accepted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. In many ways it felt like a final farewell to the playing career of the sport’s greatest. After a few comebacks, this was an exclamation point for a basketball player who had no parallel. After six titles,…

Disney and Marvel, sitting in a tree…

by Jeffery Racheff If you’re anywhere between the ages of 5 and 80, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve been affected by a Disney cartoon or a Marvel comic book character. Most of us were raised by Wolverine’s claws and/or spent our youths obsessed with the Little Mermaid’s efforts to grow legs. So when Disney…

The Beatles don’t sing Bon Jovi

by Mars Riley All of us want to be rock stars. This is a proven fact. If you were born between 1956 and 2005, you have stood in front of the mirror, air guitar in hand, imagining yourself in front of an enraptured crowd. Maybe you were yourself, but just as likely you were Jimi…

Owning Lizzie Borden

by Mars Riley In 1892, on a hot August morning, the town of Fall River, Massachusetts would change forever. Before that day it had been the leading manufacturer of textiles in the U.S., afterward it was known as the home of Lizzie “took an ax, gave her mother forty whacks, when she saw what she…

Take your cheese to the bank

What’s the difference between Kraft Parmesan cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano?  Well, aside from the taste, and the fact that they’ve been making it in Italy since 1200, you can take the real stuff to the bank. Here’s the difference between a commodity brand and something people really want to get their hands on. When Italian cheese…

Light beer is selling itself short

As far as I can tell, there are two reasons why Americans drink light beer: Either you’re trying to cut down on calories, or you’re planning on getting plastered and don’t want to get full before you’ve had your fill. Both of these reasons have made light beer the de-facto sponsor of the college experience….

Tip of the Hat: VitaminWater

Today I want to give a Tip of the Hat to VitaminWater. Since the first flavors were introduced by Glacéau in 2000, VitaminWater has built a strong and clear brand that continues to grow year after year. Here are a few things that they have done particularly well: Functions not flavors: VitaminWater was one of…

Can Athleta make waves? Gap introduces a new brand.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Gap’s newest brand: Athleta— a yoga/surf/adventure line of women’s clothing that Gap is throwing into the mix. Before we get ahead of ourselves, I’m not sure how to pronounce it. Is it athlete-a, or ath-let-a? Either way, this is not a good first question for people…

Tip of the hat: Trader Joe’s

The idea of Trader Joe’s is an island market where some wily trader scours the world for tasty bargains and passes the savings along to you. Shopping there was supposed to feel like a treasure hunt, and amazingly enough, after all these years, it still does. Like Costco, it’s a crossover experience: a store where…

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