The Story of Jif or is that Cif?
Forays into the annals and archives of the brands we grew up with. One of the Brand Historian’s less glorious moments – at least as far as his mother is concerned – was the part he played in the rebranding Read More
How the accountants drove us all to vodka
The Brand Historian We live in the age of Ginoflation when hotel, bar and supermarket shelves are stashed precariously with eccentric designer bottles whose labels proclaim some new angle on botanicals or an ingenious method of hand-crafted distillation. Seriously expensive Read More
Marketing Misc.
An A to Z of Modern Marketing M is for Mobile The Mobile Me In the Museum of Bad Futurology wherein are treasured the dangerous forecasts to which marketers are easily prone, there is an absolute stinker which dates from Read More
The Brand Historian: Men and moisturisers
The Rise and Rise of Male Grooming Beards are back, and with them a whole new industry of grooming preparations and paraphernalia. But it’s not just the beards that are getting cleaned and moisturised these days. Male grooming is blooming Read More
The Brand Historian: Into the deep freeze
Discovering the new world of frozen foods The brand historian is as old as the fish finger: the convenience miracle of the modern age will always hold a special place in my heart, not least because creating new frozen foods Read More
Entropic Marketing?
Two famous mass merchandisers in the centre of Oxford, Gap and WH Smiths, have rebadged as Clearance Outlets – their commercial people apparently contorting the language to say cheap in ways that might still add value. Well this is Read More
The Modern History of the Beer Label: The Baker Street Connection
Premium Ale Packaging from Marks and Spencer – comparing vintages from 1983 and 2019. The Brand Historian has long been a student of retailer beer packaging and this comparison show how far retailer brands in general have progressed in their Read More
Food and the Power of Place
An A to Z of food and food brands A Arbroath Smokies, Aberdeen Angus, Amalfi Lemons, Asti Spumante B Bakewell Tart, Black Forest Gateaux, Baked Alaska, Buffalo Wings C Cornish Pasties D Dublin Bay Prawns, Dundee Cake E Eccles Cakes Read More
Defining the year? Words heard in 2018
A Accidial When your partner calls you from the pub without intending to. Can end in divorce apparently B Bingeable Content so toothsome you want to consume it all in one sitting C Contenvy Any new stuff you come across especially from a Read More
A Small Neological Diversion
Language is constantly evolving, and new words are the flotsam and jetsam on the oceans of social and technological trends. But totally new words are rare because we like to use old ones – wholly or in part – to Read More
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