The decline of big supermarkets in the face of brutal competition from discount retailers like Aldi and Lidl has been widely discussed. But, as shoppers move away from conventional ways of shopping, little…
Coca Cola has begun carefully rolling out its green-labelled “Life” brand, filling its iconic hour-glass bottles with a new fizzy drink which has nearly a third fewer calories than Coke Original. It is…
Remember the days when free really was free? When reading a news article to the end didn’t mean having to get over, around or through a paywall. Or when loyalty schemes actually rewarded loyalty with decent…
I live in the city of Hershey, otherwise known as “the sweetest place on Earth” (registered trademark). I’m surrounded by references to chocolate everyday – from the smell of it in the air to Kiss-shaped…
Across the street from my office is a museum full of fascinating collections that include paintings, sculptures, porcelains, and ancient archaeological finds. The chance to admire them all costs you nothing…
With the gay pride season coming to a close, here is a question: have you withdrawn money from a multi-coloured gAyTM this summer? Or have you even tucked into your Burger King Pride Whopper? And if you…
During World War II, residents on the islands in the southern Pacific Ocean saw heavy activity by US planes, bringing in goods and supplies for the soldiers. In many cases, this was the islanders’ first…
Both research and popular media tell us that emotions and eating are intrinsically related. How many times have we seen a character in a TV show reaching for the ice-cream tub when feeling particularly…
A passer-by happens upon a drunk searching for a lost wallet under a streetlight. With nothing in plain sight, the passer-by asks “Where did you drop your wallet?”. “Over there,” gestures the drunk across…
How far are consumers ready to go to show their love to brands? As the BBC recently noted, tattoos representing brands are getting more and more common. But why? And what does it tells us about the psychology…
Artists such as Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, and more recently Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, are regularly held up as masters of self-marketing and as global artist brands. Koons, for example, is feted on…
Just hours after MH17 crashed into fields in eastern Ukraine, a mysterious Malaysian company filed an application with authorities in Australia to trademark the doomed plane’s flight number. If accepted…
Stem cell tourism is when people travel to another country to receive treatments unavailable to them at home. It exists chiefly because most stem cell “treatments” are unproven and not readily available…
On Saturday night, just hours before the latest quarter-finals of the World Cup, viewers watching SBS World News were exposed to over two and a half minutes of marketing for Coca-Cola. And that’s not even…
Why are we so loyal to our national and club football teams? Whatever the results, we tend to support them week in week out, through thick and thin. They can cause us nothing but misery and heartache and…
No sooner had the Netherlands beaten Mexico with an equaliser two minutes before the end of the match and a last minute penalty, than KLM joined those who seek to capitalise on the drama of the World Cup…
The football World Cup currently underway in Brazil is not only a battle between two teams on the pitch and 32 nations overall, but also a battle off the field. Although eight different companies provide…
Darryl Woodford, Queensland University of Technology and Katie Prowd, Queensland University of Technology
The 2014 World Cup has already seen a significant volume of Twitter conversation across a number of (English language) keywords, including #joinin, #worldcup, #Brazil2014 and #worldcup2014, as well as…
The section of the crowd behind the goal was awash with red and white when Switzerland took on Ecuador in their opening World Cup match. Faces were painted; many had white crosses painted onto red cheeks…
In the endless drive to get people’s attention, advertising is going ‘native’, creeping in to places formerly reserved for editorial content. In this Native Advertising series we find out what it looks…