Sunday, February 10, 2013

Xerox does what with who now?

It's been two years since Xerox launched its marketing campaign, "Ready for Real Business," and it's not exactly lighting the world on fire. Frankly, it's a snooze. I've seen the ads multiple times and I still have no idea what you do. And I couldn't be less inspired to find out.



Let's address the heart of the matter: this notion of "Real Business." What does that even mean? In what universe would the average person connect that with Xerox?

Time to heed the immortal words of Regina George.



Things. Sold. Here.

Buffalo Wild Wings is a chintzy chain with lots of tvs and passable appetizers and, of course, beer. At its core, it's a neighborhood sports bar -- but . And last January they redesigned their restaurants and their visual identity, tweaking the logo and brightening up the look. They also moved away from the unhelpfully vague and bland tagline "You have to be here™" towards something more ownable and relevant to anything about them. What have they come up with?

Before:

After:

"Wings. Beer. Sports.™"

Well, it's...true, I suppose. A tad literal, boringly practical, and a missed opportunity to connect to any sort of lifestyle or image for their customers.

But let's give credit where credit is due: there's no mistaking what you'll find when you walk in the door. And there's something to be said for that kind of direct simplicity.

Monday, October 15, 2012