Good Week/Bad Week in Branding

Good Week: Nike – The sportswear giant scored big points by announcing that its full-time U.S. employees are now eligible for up to eight weeks of paid leave to care for sick relatives or when they become new parents. Women who give birth are eligible for a minimum of 14 paid weeks. It’s a sure sign that no matter what new slogans Nike rolls out, its employees are still thinking “Just Do It.”

Bad Week: Mitsubishi Motors – Taking a page out of the Volkswagen playbook by overstating fuel-economy ratings on its line of minicars, the Japanese automaker is now under expanded scrutiny after it was revealed that the cheating likely extended to its entire range of models.

Worse Week: Online Fantasy Sports Gaming – Palms are getting even sweatier in the intentionally murky world of fantasy sports gam(bl)ing with the news this week that the U.S. House of Representatives will launch a “fact-finding mission” into the loosely regulated, multibillion-dollar industry. Are House fact-finding missions invasive? Consider a colonoscopy where the doctor actually crawls up there along with the scope… and brings his golfing buddies.