Can a person be a brand? This week we said goodbye to one of our own here in Los Angeles. Say what you will about the man, but he led quite a colorful life full of twists and turns and always had the ability to make us take notice. Recently, he was about to make a comeback by launching a huge tour with 50 shows in London, just to kick it off. Even though many of us did not fully embrace his antics or lifestyle - throw on a "Thriller" cd and see what happens to the energy in the room.
Somehow, secretly we were all rooting for the Michael we used to know and hoped to see again. If you look at MJ "the brand", it speaks volumes about what we as a collective will forgive if the brand is built on a solid gold foundation and goes sideways. Even though the current experience doesn't quite match our earlier takeaway, we look at the brand through a forgiving lens based on what was delivered previously. The bigger the initial payoff for us, the more forgiving we become.
GM is another brand that comes to mind that had America, if not the world, enthralled with it's product and image, but, eventually ran out of "brand credibility" to be a brand to be trusted. There is indeed a limit to what we will endure from a broken brand. Even though we still love the brand, it's like that crazy uncle that always shows up late to Thanksgiving, throws up on the couch and passes out. Love the guy, but from a cautious distance.
So, with a heavy heart and a single gloved hand we wave a fond goodbye to MJ as he rides of into the sunset on a circus elephant. Adios MJ and godspeed.
