Branding Expert Rob Frankel

Video Clips

Over the years and even now, I get asked to comment on brand-related issues by various media. Below are some interviews that were pretty informative and fun. As a bonus, you can also watch how my hair gets grayer over the years.

FOX: Selling Obamacare and why nobody is buying in. Obamacare is tough enough to understand without all 50 states trying to tell their own poorly structured stories. They're going to need more than medicine to cure this disaster. QuickTime	NBC Today: The NFL's brand of thieves, thugs & murderers. Brands are about leadership, whcih explains why the lack of leadership is so prevalent in the NFL -- and why their ranks are so thick with thieves, thugs and murderers. QuickTime	NBR/CNBC: Boycotting Google ads for hate content. Brands boycotting Google Ads because they're showing up in extremist content. Effective? Nah. Eyeballs are eyeballs. QuickTime
NBC: Taylor Swift & Diet Coke: a match made in hell. Poor Swifty. Getting bad advice will cost the Queen of Wholesome her trust and credibility by selling out to her brand antithesis, Diet Coke. Type 2 Diabetes, obesity & Michele Obama will wreck this bad decision. QuickTime	FOX: Online ratings services: Don't trust them, game them! Bottom line is that everything online can be gamed, especially ratings services like Yelp. As long as you have lots of friends or a big family, you can get a great rating, too! QuickTime	NBC Today: Paula Deen has too many fans to be dropped. Just as I reacted to the misfortunes of Don Imus and Martha Stewart, the stupidity of corporate America won't keep Paula Deen down. Her dopey managers, might.... QuickTime
CNBC: The GAP's old story: New ads, no brand strategy. Yawn. Just because they change management and ad campaigns more often than you and I change socks doesn't mean the GAP is any less clueless. But the market always seems to fall for it. QuickTime	NBC: Sesame Street's brand is as strong as they come. Sex scandals can't hurt Elmo or any brand that so strongly advocates for kids. This isn't about Sesame Street. It's about a gay guy who loves the brand as much as we all do-- and nothing more. QuickTime	FOX: Hey, brand CEO's: Man up and stop whining about Obamacare. CEO's are the worst when it comes to being spokesmen for their brands -- especially when they have no brand strategy. Blaming it on Obamacare doesn't help, but don't try telling that to legends in their own minds. QuickTime
FOX: Is Obama overexposure hurting his message? Yup. Even the President can learn a few things about brand messaging. Lack of clarity and overexposure are just two of the hard lessons. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: New Jersey, er, Brooklyn Nets miss their shot at a brand. Well, this is what happens when you let a rap star and a Russian billionaire handle branding for a basketball team.... QuickTime link here	CNN: The cure for the Komen Foundation's brand. The Susan G. Komen Foundation lost its way - and its leadership. What they really need to cure their ills is an articulate brand strategy. QuickTime link here
CTV: Starbucks' logo change: Finally something makes sense. Removing the word "Coffee" from its logo means Starbucks is ready to expand the brand. Forget those logo crybabies. QuickTime link here	CTV: Is the shine coming off Apple's brand? Um, yeah. Apple was once the upstart rebel. Now it's becoming the Microsoft of cool -- and lack of brand strategy is the reason why. QuickTime link here	CNBC: Apple's iCloud has more risk than reward. Apple has a bad history with service products and iCloud probably won't be any differen. Oh, Apple will make it cool, but not necessarily good. QuickTime link here
MSNBC: Facebook riding for a fall: Look what happened to MySpace. A brand with no direction is at the mercy of its public, which is why Facebook is among the most hated brands out there. QuickTime link here	CBC: Is the Old Spice campaign really sustainable? Sure it's funny and brilliantly executed. But at the end of the day, it still smells like Old Spice. The question is if it's sustainable. QuickTime link here	FOX: Obama, BP and the oil spill: Is he the right messenger? Everyone wants BP's head, but is Obama the guy to go after it -- or is he really Jimmy Carter, trying to do too much by himself? QuickTime link here
FOX: Is Tiger Wood's sex life going to kill his endorsements? Nah. If anything, golf is going to become the new macho sport. Scandal didn't kill Clinton, Martha Stweart or Don Imus. Tiger will do fine. QuickTime or Flash.	CTV: Abercrombie & the Situation: Epic Fail on all counts. A transparent publicity ploy that raises awareness for a brand without communicating anything other than sheer dopines (via Skype). QuickTime link here	CNBC: The "new" Today Sponge campaign...a real abortion. If you're going to exhume an old brand, why on earth would you revive the one that single-handedly launched Toxic Shock Syndrome? QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC: How CEO's undermine their companies' brands. The myth of personal branding exposed as RyanAir's CEO undermines the company brand with his own egomania. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	FOX: Apple and the health of Steve Jobs. Okay, so they called me "Ron." The truth is that the brand is stronger than the man, anyway.... QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	FOX: Why do brands sponsor political conventions? Cheap eyeballs, easy targets and besides, there's nothing political going on there, anyway. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC: Viagra's New TV Spot Goes Limp Is there anything Viagra can do right, other than, you know, what it does when you pop one? This latest advertising effort explains why Viagra is having trouble firming up its flaccid sales. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: Can Nokia catch Apple's iPhone? Hey, maybe Nokia is on to something here. Perhaps by offering less, they're actually offering people more? It just might work... QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: Does viral marketing really work? 99.75% of the time it doesn't. but if you know what you're doing, you can get response -- and sell through rates -- from 3% to 9%. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC: Saturn cars: The little brand that couldn't. Saturn could have been a great brand...if only they could get their branding and advertising act together....Sheesh. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: "Frankel is right! Wal-Mart Doomed!" In a reunion with Richard Hastings, (below) the dark fate of Wal-Mart's brand hangs in the balance...with surprising results. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: "VW's TV Spots - Reeeally Stupid." Junking Jettas to sell more of them? Might get the clueless ad agency some weird award, but at the expense of the client's brand. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC: Pearl Izumi's Shoes: "How bad ads kill new brands." Even Laura Ries agrees that these latest "shock ads" suck and do absolutely nothing for the Pearl Izumi brand . QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: Playboy's Brand in Macao: "It's more than pretty girls." If you can handle the visual distraction of gorgeous Playboy bunnies, Rob points out why Playboy's brand is in trouble, even with their new Macao operation. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: Celebrity Gossip: "Viewers will watch, but rarely click." Watching video and gossip about celebrities is like watching a train wreck -- who's going to click on an ad because they've seen home video of David Hasselhoff as a fall-down drunk? QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC: "Superbowl Ads Not Worth It " Superbowl commercials are God's way of telling shareholders that the company has too much money . QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNN: Obama's Recovery Logo On CNN, the logo identifes the problem, but doesn't inspire because there's no brand strategy behind it. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: "Wal-Mart Hires a Nun." In yet another ill-fated reactive move, Wal-Mart hires a nun to help exorcise its brand demons. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC: "Miller Lite TV Spots Go Flat." You're kidding, right? A once-great brand sinks at the hands of an ad agency that just doesn't get it. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: "Is Victoria's Secret Selling to Little Girls?" Why is it that overweight, over-age crusaders have a problem with lingerie? Absurd woman can't touch Victoria Secret's brand. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: "Can the WalMart Brand go Upscale?" High-end products at Wal-Mart? Got any other jokes? This won't save Wal-Mart's tail-spinning brand. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC : "7-Eleven, CITGO & Hugo Chavez" Hugo Chavez calls our President "the Devil", so CITGO and 7-Eleven decide not to buy his oil? Nice try, fellas. Not convincing. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: "Losing Sleep Over Ambien Side Effects?" Five or six fat people blame a drug for their obesity. Might play for Jay Leno, but there's no brand damage here. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: "Bono's Red Brand...Just More Hype?" Another ineffective - actually harmful - program launched by the Prince of Arrogance, who may know music, but not branding. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC: "Are Sports Drink Brands Ethical?" Madison Avenue has a conscious? I don't think so. Why else would they put your kids on the road to dependency? QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: "Anheuser Busch Beyond Beer." The King of Beers is worried about losing its throne. The question is whether they know how to stay on it. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	CNBC: "Why Did American Express Axe Tiger Woods?" Do celebrities help or hinder a brand? If Tiger Woods couldn't do it for American Express, can anyone? QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC: "What's Wrong With Wal-Mart's Brand?" Holy cow, what isn't wrong with it? Doomed! QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	Bloomberg Asia: "Can Chinese Companies Succeed at Buying American Brands?" Maytag? Lenovo? Lemmings all, headed over the cliff. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	FOX: Do brands or price matter when giving gifts? If the point of giving gifts is to show how much you care, why would you cheap out at Wal-Mart? Especially in a weird economy, brands matter more than ever. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)
CNBC: "Howard Stern or Oprah? Sirius or XM?" Sirius or XM? Does it matter? Not really, satellite radio isn't going anywhere any time soon, although the personalities will make a difference. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	FOX: Will Olympic protests over China hurt brands? How many times do you have to see boycotts and protests fail before people understand they don't affect business? QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)	FOX: Obama's bad messaging sinks health care program. Wow, even the most powerful man in the world can't articulate his brand strategy. QuickTime (Slower load, better quality) Flash Version (Faster load, lower quality)