funny

Today, while stumbling through the internet in search of the latest stories, I came across a great website called Ragan’s PR Daily. This site is full of interesting articles from all sides of PR including marketing, social media, media relations, and events.

Anyways, the article that immediately caught my eye this afternoon is about a graphic designer, Clif Dickens, who is experimenting with ‘honest branding’. He runs a Tumblr account called ‘Honest Slogans’ where he transforms already well-known brand logos and slogans into comical yet accurate descriptions of what the company or product truly delivers to the public.

For example, Dickens took Vicks NyQuil logo and added the slogan ‘slip into a nice coma for a few hours’. He also took the Kool-Aid sign (including the infamous Kool-Aid man) and wrote ‘sugar-water’ at the bottom.

While clearly accurate in what both products really offer, obviously the act of maintaining brutal honesty is not attainable for brands. This may be the reason the industry of Public Relations often receives a negative view from the general public. It is the job of the PR rep. to bring out the positive aspects of the brand and make it sound good enough to buy. This is why a Kool-Aid advertisement will never have the words ‘sugar-water’ anywhere close.

At the bottom I have attached a link to the article in the PR Daily website and also to Clif Dickens’ Tumblr page. These modified ads are truly fun to look at and I suggest viewing the Tumblr page if your in the mood for a good laugh!