Last week ad agency BBH announced that it had resigned the Levis account it has held since 1982. You could tell it was a significant moment because it was so widely reported, not least in the FT which described the split as ‘End of an era in Levi’s advertising’. For nearly three decades BBH’s work for Levi’s has been without rival, equal or parallel. Other campaigns have lasted longer. Think Andrex puppies, think Tony the Tiger.

Other campaigns have perhaps sparkled nearly as brightly for a moment or two -think of all those great ads for Tango and its different flavours, or Fallon’s work for Sony and Cadbury’s.

A photo of the new Tottenham home strip was leaked onto the internet this week. It wasn’t a great shot. Spectral and grainy, it looks like a ghost shirt. But it wasn’t just the quality of the image that gave it an ‘other-wordly’ feeling.

There’s an asymmetric navy epaulet effect in Spurs blue. And there’s the Spurs cockerel over the left breast. It looks strangely dignified. And yet there’s something’s missing. Something that marks out nearly all top flight football teams these days.  What could it possibly be?

Greenpeace activists hoist a flag after climbing on to a balcony at BP headquarters in London.

Full disclosure here: I’m a journalist’s daughter. Actually, I’m a columnist’s daughter, so there goes the impartiality. And yes, this blog post comes straight on the heels of some paternal prose. But I can’t help but think that it’s about time Coley Porter Bell weighed in on the BP brand in the face of the Deepwater disaster.

BP’s rebrand ten years ago has been held up as one of our industry’s biggest success stories: a tired, uninspiring oil company making the leap into the shiny future of renewable energy, going ‘beyond petroleum’. Employees embraced the new ethos, the bottom line flourished, and the company’s reputation as a leader in corporate sustainability efforts was cemented in the public consciousness. BP was sitting pretty.

And then in April, disaster struck.

To be clear: this is a disaster, no doubt about it. The victims of the oil rig explosion are not only the eleven people who lost their lives, but their families, the population of the Gulf Coast, and countless species of animals in the area. We have no idea how the situation will play out, or how much damage will ultimately be done. It’s scary stuff - the sort of fiasco that can relegate a company to the black hole of contempt in people’s minds. And while the BP brand will take a hit, ultimately I believe it will make it through. There are two reasons for that.

First, BP’s longstanding and considerable investment in brand-building will have helped to futureproof them against public relations disasters just like this one. Compared to energy companies with less inspiring brands (ahem, Shell and Exxon), BP seems like the good guy. Instinctively, we tend to believe they’ll right this wrong, and continue on their virtuous path. That’s what it means to have captured the hearts and minds of consumers.

Second, BP has done more than simply building a brand, they’ve built a culture. The open, honest, optimism that’s core to their brand has come through in their response to the oil spill. Sure, there were some hiccups at the start, but ultimately, they’ve raised their game. BP leadership is truly living their brand, reinforcing their positioning with every press conference, every shared internal document, every apology. The BP brand, it seems, is more than just a cheery logo.

We’ll have to wait and see how this all nets out, but this blogger’s money is on a triumphant BP brand re-emerging. Eventually.

Coley Porter Bell has given the bar of the exclusive Martinez Hotel in Cannes, a Chivas Regal-branded make over for this year’s film and design festivals.

The premium whisky brand has signed a two year sponsorship deal with the £5,000 a night hotel to promote its luxury credentials.

It has revamped the bar which is frequented by many of the most famous film stars and celebrities in the world, with Chivas Regal brand icons. The redesign employs elements from the ‘Brand World’ that CPB and Chivas have developed. (‘Brand World’ is part of an ongoing drive to ensure the Chivas brand’s positioning is brought to life visually and consistently throughout the world).

CPB has created muted but glamorous branding and wall coverings in black on black using elements of the Chivas brand. The company also enhanced the lighting in the bar using amber coloured accent lights around the bar itself, the bar shelving and the walls of the bar.

In addition the product will be displayed as a focal point behind the bar and plinths either side of the bar will display Chivas Regal 25 and the limited edition bottle designed by Christian Lacroix. Chivas images are displayed on the walls of the bar in luxurious gold frames.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Chivas to build and extend its glamorous reputation in such exclusive surroundings”, said Ana Claudia Saba, global senior brand manager at Chivas Brothers.

“Although in many ways it was a dream brief for CPB, it was a challenging design problem requiring the agency to strike a delicate balance between the need for branding and discrete luxury”, said Simon Adamson design director at Coley Porter Bell who also acts as global creative director at Chivas Brothers. “The brand’s positioning is cool, sophisticated and luxurious. We had to capture this spirit and ensure that it feels part of the glitterati life style.”

http://www.creativematch.com/directory/coley-porter-bell/

Are you psyched about May 6th? You know, The General Election. Are you really looking forward to it? Are you enthusiastically engaged with the thinking, the campaigning, the issues, the people, the ideas?

Thought not.

Sadly you are not alone in your indifference. Over the past few weeks it has become increasingly apparent that there is a near universal lack of engagement in the country with our upcoming quadrennial vote-fest.

Even antagonism would be preferable. At least that implies some interest. But instead we seem to be in the grip of the most severe outbreak of mass apathy we have seen for decades, perhaps ever. And we cant help wondering why?

Newspapers are multi-faceted things, addressing the needs of many different groups of readers. But that makes the need for a coherent thread, a single unifying idea or characteristic, -a set of brand values if you like, more not less important.

It’s a point that Guardian newspapers might care to consider when they assess the effectiveness –or otherwise of this week’s last-throw-of-the-dice redesign of The Observer.

It is in part brilliant, in part dire and on the whole, totally confusing. I suspect that my confusion as a reader reflects the lack of certainty at Guardian newspapers over exactly what the paper should be doing.

The overhaul has been thorough, starting with the paper’s most basic ‘architecture’ - its rag bag of supplements and sections. Three of the excellent monthly magazines have been spiked and the paper has been reduced to four sections: news, sport, an expanded Review section and the magazine.

So far so good. It feels more focussed and somehow more confident.

I have recently returned from a trip to China. I was there to conduct a market audit for an International brand with Western heritage to work out how to build its appeal with a changing Chinese consumer.

As has widely been discussed and rightfully recognised, China has established itself as the new super power. This shift in leadership from the West has got me pondering - in ten years time will we all be sitting here at our Lenovo computers, sending texts via China Mobile before heading out with friends to share a Tsingtao beer?

The logic I am following is that we have for some time all been buying into the American Dream which has been the foundation of many successful brands. As America created itself as the global leader we all wanted to share in their glory by associating ourselves with their home grown brands - from Levi jeans and Nike trainers to Apple Macs and Google searches.

So the challenge that I keep coming back to is: what is the dream that China will be able to sell to the world? How are they going to successfully and legitimately market their national brands to create a universal appeal to a global audience?

Last night I attended a networking evening held by the lovely people at LS:N Global

For those of you that don’t know who they are - LS:N is an online consumer news and insights network set up by The Future Laboratory.  In its simplest form the guys at LS:N provide news of whats going on around the globe in fashion, interiors, architecture, design you name it they are on to it and last night they held a fascinating evening at The Connaught Hotel in London.

The topic of the evening was luxury and the way the evening was set up was a bit like speed dating.  6 tables, 6 speakers, 6 minutes all we had to do was sit and listen.

The speakers included Stephen Alden, CEO of the Maybourne Hotel Group who spoke about how luxury is becoming more meaningful in 2010.  ‘Frivolity, excess & waste’ have become a thing of the past, consumers are looking for values, authenticity and craftsmanship in their luxury brands.

And so farewell Cadbury. The nation’s favourite chocolate brand has been gobbled up by US processed cheese giant Kraft. Will we ever see your like again?

The news that Cadbury has fallen to the foreigners is obviously a major business story -it’s the biggest outside acquisition of a British business for at least two years. The weird thing is the effect that the news of Cadbury’s demise has had on the business-savvy brand junkies at CPB.

The overwhelming reaction here hasn’t been ‘Oh what are the new business opportunities?’ There hasn’t even been a dispassionate analysis of the new entity’s brand portfolio. No, it has been sadness. Anyone would think that Kraft had bayoneted our teddy bears from the reaction. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that people wept in the corridors while hardened brand warriors rent their clothes and tore out their hair, when they heard.

Sadness? Sadness? How can that be? In what way is that an appropriate reaction to a business takeover?

Of course there’s a jingoistic element to our collective response. “We don’t want foreigners taking over our brands,” said one sophisticated strategic planner who normally has a markedly global perspective.

Others cite concern for the Cadbury work force. “Kraft are paying too much and will have to make deep cuts to finance the purchase. I’m worried they will compromise the values of this ethical corporation.” said an ambitious young account exec.

But one of our account directors came closer to the truth when she said, “I hope they don’t mess with the chocolate. I don’t think I could bear it if they started to change Cadbury’s. It’s the best chocolate in the world. That’s how proper chocolate should taste.”

What she was saying was that Cadbury, the brand, doesn’t belong to Cadbury’ shareholders -or even Kraft’s. It is hers. It resides in her. As a child it defined the taste of how chocolate should be. It reminds her of parental love and infantile indulgence. Even as an adult it puts her in close touch with her inner child.

And that’s an important point for any brand owner to remember when they are considering tampering with their most famous products. Brands reside not in brand rooms or marketing plans or ad campaigns, but in the hearts and minds of consumers -and other stakeholders. If you mess with them, the response is unlikely to be measured and analytical. It will be emotional, visceral even.

Sadness is only the start of it. The next stage in the bereavement process is often anger. Brand owners beware.

Has anyone else noticed a minor invasion of furry creatures recently? The fuzzy little critters are cropping up everywhere from Spanish car adverts to dutch mobile phone ads, even coca cola have crawled onto the bushy bandwagon. Is there a recession-based psychological reason behind this phenomenon, or is it just a cool trend that people are copying? Have they always been here and I just haven’t noticed? I’m sure there are more examples so let me know if you have any more sightings!