The100: Logo throwbacks, marketing mistakes and Vikings

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Have the last laugh

The use of humour in advertising has nosedived over the last 15 years. As of 2020 just 34% of adverts were funny or lighthearted, down from 53% in 2004.

And the bottom line isn’t laughing either. Recent studies have shown humorous adverts tend to be more effective, and have a significant, positive correlation with: 

• Attitudes towards the ad
• Attitudes towards the brand
• Attention
• Positive emotions
• A reduction in negative emotions
• Most importantly, purchase intent

A most wonderful case in point is a recent advert from the Danish Road Safety Council which led to a 4% increase in non-helmet-wearers buying one. 

The millennials might just be ok

Are millennial pockets really haemorrhaging more severely than those who came before them? Contrary to popular opinion, perhaps not:

Never underestimate how much a person can eat

These 3 marketing campaigns were, in the modern parlance, an absolute soup sandwich. Why? Because they completely misunderstood their customers and their perceptions. 

Illustrated most excellently by A&W and their “Third-Of-A-Pound” burger. It was designed to compete with McDonald’s Quarter-Pounder and even won in taste tests, but it never took off. 

“We were aggressively marketing a one-third-pound hamburger for the same price […] but despite our best efforts, including first-rate TV and radio promotional spots, they just weren’t selling […] More than half the participants of the Yankelovich focus groups questioned the price of our burger. “Why,” they asked, “should we pay the same amount for a third-pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat at McDonald’s? You’re overcharging us”. ”

Internet whac-a-mole

Nailed. It. 

The iron laws of money

Morgan Housel writes brilliantly about one of the most important yet hardest financial skills: getting the goal posts to stop moving. 

“If expectations grow faster than income you’ll never be happy with your money.”

Even Microsoft had a “phase”

This comparison of old vs. new logos is a very pleasing meander through time. 

I love Microsoft’s 1980-81 logo and how it looks like a metal band ? 

Having a whale of a time

And finally, a rare glimmer of hope. 1,000 fin whales were seen swimming in the same area where they were driven to near extinction. Hello feel-good-friday.

And that, dear readers, is that. Alistair is back for the next issue of The100 on Friday 11th February. It really has been a pleasure.

Over and out,
Fran