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Buffalo’s Peace Bridge ponders selling its soul to PETA

by Jeffery Racheff Desperate times call for desperate measures. At least that may be the case in Buffalo, New York, where the city’s Department of Transportation is looking for a way to come up with the necessary funds required to fix a bridge. A state audit has concluded the Peace Bridge, which connects Buffalo with…

The Best Startup Businesses to Work For

It’s always exciting to get in on the ground floor of an exciting new business venture. The best startup businesses to work for are often distinguished by their exciting company cultures. Successful startups know that to achieve a passionate work force, they have to engender a positive and enriching environment around their company. These startup…

Annals of naming: Charmin becomes Cushelle

by Danny Altman Like the U.S., Europe is dominated by a few brands of toilet paper–Lotus, Scottex, Cottonelle. And if Swedish giant SCA gets its way, Cushelle (you know it as Charmin) will soon be one of them. SCA is pouring 11 million euros into a rebranding campaign to make Cushelle the roll to beat….

‘Avatar’ goes to China, tries to claim a mountain

by Jeffery Racheff There has never been another film like Avatar. Both technologically and cinematically, James Cameron’s epic about blue warrior cat-people from outer space has set a new standard for film-making — recently it surpassed Titanic (another Cameron flick) to become the highest-grossing film of all time, with a world-wide total of over $2…

North Bay Business Times: Monkey Business

Local sports writer Bill Meagher stops by to talk about 100M. “Nobody would ever accuse A Hundred Monkeys of aping big companies or the way they do business.”

A lasting memorial to… you

by Barry Silverstein A few weeks ago, the world’s tallest skyscraper, Burj Dubai was renamed Burj Khalia (Khalia Tower). Khalia, you see, is Sheikh Khalia Bin Zayed Al Nahyan – the guy who pumped $10 billion into Dubai to keep it from bankruptcy. Khalia is president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu…

Chanel wants to tattoo you, temporarily

By Jeffery Racheff Nothing says rock ‘n’ roll like a good face tattoo. Just look at Mike Tyson. Unfortunately, not everyone can be like Mike. Rock ‘n’ roll (and, in Mike’s case, mild insanity) is only fun in short bursts, because afterward most of us have to return to the real world where tattoos, even…

Falling brands latch on to rising stars

by Barry Silverstein Singing sensation Lady Gaga recently signed on to be “creative director” of a line of products with the Polaroid brand name. And actor Hugh Jackman, the badass from X-Men Origins and Swordfish, will be the new worldwide spokesman for Lipton Ice Tea. I’m not making this up. You remember Polaroid – the…

Chocolate chip cookies: half-baked branding idea?

As a former chocolate chip cookie junkie, I was amused to read a long story in The New York Times yesterday about two companies that have figured out how to make their customers actually salivate prior to entering the premises. And neither one of them is in the cookie business. The first is Doubletree hotels,…

The side-effects of pharmaceutical naming

It’s a little ridiculous that prescription drugs can be advertised to the public. Why should your TV tell you what medications you need? Isn’t that your doctor’s job? It’s all part of something called DTC (Direct To Consumer) advertising which, at the current time, is permitted in just two countries: New Zealand and the United…

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