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Marketoonist is the thought bubble of Tom Fishburne. Marketing cartoons, content marketing with a sense of humor, keynote speaking.

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peak brand purpose

January 5, 2020

Peak Brand Purpose cartoon
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I was struck by a recent editorial from Russell Parsons on “peak brand purpose”, which he linked to a crisis of confidence in marketing as a discipline.

He wrote:

“We reached peak brand purpose in 2019 with Gillette’s ‘The Best a Man Can Be’ and Cadbury’s ‘Unity Bar’…  

“Marketers have sought to become part of the solution to the world’s ills, that it was no longer enough to have a product that performed or a service that satisfied — you had to be worthy…

“This has slipped into an underlying disquiet among many about what they do for a living. That, somehow, being a marketer is an unwholesome business.”

Somehow I originally missed the Cadbury “Unity Bar” campaign Russell referenced. In August, Cadbury tried to promote diversity (and mark India’s independence) by launching a single bar with 4 different kinds of chocolate: dark, blended, milk and white.  It lead to widespread Kendall Jenner-level mocking that “Cadbury finally solved racism.”

It reminded me of this cartoon I drew in 2012 about marketers trying to climb the brand benefits ladder, from “salty & crunchy” to solving “world peace”.

Here are a few other related cartoons I’ve drawn over the years:

“Mission Statement” January 2011

“Brand Purpose” October 2013

“Brand Social Purpose” February 2019

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