Idea as a four-letter word

Al Ries in his book on internet branding said the key is being "fast, first and focused". In retrospect there are advantages about being second and getting the benefits of others' mistakes, but ideas do not hang around.

KFC recently launched their 'Pops' and have sold the idea in a big way especially to younger eaters. Now Chicken Licken have what they call 'Popcorn Chicken'.

They are cheaper, bigger, juicier and more tasty than KFC 'Pops' but KFC have their captive market and of course Chicken Licken are also perceived in some white circles to be a black person's chicken.

Who has in this example made best use of the idea? There are pros and cons both sides but both are benefiting from the concept and have sold it effectively to their market.

Guinness Extra Stout have an advert that places the bottle at the centre of a red coloured vaginal picture. I sat and looked at it on the pub wall and tried to figure out whether the intention is that the bottle top is placed around where the G spot could be or whether it is just a dirty picture aimed at appealing to the lowest common denominator in the drinking market.

Either way it adds a new dimension to instant gratification and will certainly alienate a certain portion of the market. An idea that surely only belongs on the wall of a brothel.

As the year draws to a close there is much discussion about best ads. The Audi Vorsprung series immediately springs to mind as does the Toyota Celica ad from Cannes that had a dog racing out the drive to chase a car only to bash his head as the car was standing still.

The punchline was 'Looks fast'. Branding is also something that is being discussed at the moment and much debate revolves around brands that have been damaged in the past year.

The brand for me that has taken some serious blows amidships is the Rugby Springbok. Gone are the days when other teams were scared of us. Every other team has alternative game plans and ideas but not the Boks.

When plan A doesn't work than implement plan A with increased thuggery. The All Blacks and Wallabies also lost games on their European tours but at least they put up a struggle and teams that beat them knew that they had been in a game.

The implications for the Bok brand include epithets like one dimensional, cowardly, dirty and whingeing. The fascinating thing is that they have a brand manager's dream captive market. No matter how badly they play there is always blame heaped elsewhere.

The word idea is definitely a four letter word in the Bok camp.