Brands and trust

Business Week's global brands issue has an excellent piece on marketing and trust. It's well worth a read.
Also check out their ranking of the 100 best brands. Interesting insights.
What is the balance between a company's obligation to consumers and to shareholders? What social responsibilities do brands have?
For instance, this is "Go Big Read" time, where hundreds on campus are reading Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" and its indictment of food marketing. Kellogg's is Business Week's 34th best brand. What is its obligation to feed children nutritionally valuable products? If they build the brand and make shareholders money by marketing sugary cereals, is that OK? Why or why not? How can consumers influence large brands?

Kellogg Dumping Phelps

The bong hit that continues to haunt:
http://adage.com/article?article_id=134363
Michael Phelps loses an endorsement deal, what may the first in a line.
What is a celebrity's responsibility to the clients that hire him as a face for their brand? What is his responsibility to the public in general? How serious was this mistake? How seriously should he pay for it?

Super Bowl Ads and the Blogosphere

Looks like the recession may cutting into chatter about the upcoming Super Bowl ads. Discussions are down, according to Ad Age and others.
What does this mean for these spots? Does it make the massive investment less worth it? How much does this buzz help a brand?

What's Your Candidate?

Great blog addition from a 202er this morning:
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Hi Katy,

I found this story through the NY Times and it reminded me a lot about today's lecture and the several Mac vs. PC examples we heard today. I thought you might find it interesting how these technologies are becoming representations for entire genres, demographics, styles, etc. and how one writer used them to contrast Obama and Clinton in this article.
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What do you think? Do the styles of the two platforms fit the styles of the two candidates? And then what would John McCain and Mike Huckabee be? We've talked about branding in marketing. How are the candidates brands faring in your opinion?