BrandSnark: Good Week/Bad Week in Branding

Good Week: Levi Strauss & Co. – Earlier this week, the maker of the world’s most iconic pants – seen in just about every Western-movie gunfight – announced a ban on guns in its branded stores, even in states that permit it. No joke or pun to be made here; just a smart move in the interest of public safety.

Bad Week: Nickelback – The often-maligned band – no self-respecting genre will step forward to claim them – becomes an even bigger punch line as the Kensington, Canada police department announced that those caught driving under the influence of alcohol will be forced to listen to Nickelback in the back of the cruiser as they’re carted off to jail. Transforming Kensington’s approximately 20 police vehicles into rolling torture chambers resulted in the largest single-day spike in Nickelback album sales in the band’s history.

Worse Week: GoPro – The rough times continue for the action-camera manufacturer with the news that it will lay off more than 200 full-time employees as sales of its cameras and new drone remain sluggish. #futureoutoffocus

Sad Week: McDonald’s – The inventor of the Big Mac died this week at 98 years of age. Jim Delligatti introduced the classic burger at his Uniontown, Pennsylvania McDonald's franchise in 1967. No truth to the rumor that Delligatti was laid to rest in a large Styrofoam box that was then tossed out a car window in a high school parking lot.