Mark Ritson

Your weekend reminder that, two months into this horrendous act of Russian aggression against the people of Ukraine, several large multinational companies continue to operate in Russia. I'd like to draw specific attention to Alibaba Group, Benetton Group, Diadora, Emirates, Etihad, Giorgio Armani, Lacoste, Lenovo, Zippo Manufacturing Company

If you are making a customer choice in the near future I urge you not to buy from these companies. If you are an employee of these organisations I urge you to look for a better position at a different company. If you are a marketer that encounters anyone from these organisations on your travels I ask that you politely raise this issue with that person. If you encounter commercial messaging on this platform or any other social site, please post a reference to the company's continued presence in Russia underneath its post.

And if you are comfortable please share this message with your professional network. We cannot do a lot in the marketing world, but we can do this.

#glorytoukraine

A grown up approach to purpose driven decision making from The Guardian. It is banning all forms of gambling advertising.

But unlike the forced, unrealistic dogma of
“Purpose = Profits” the newspaper does not expect the move to be a sound financial call. It will cost them millions. The purpose of purpose is purpose, not profit. And The Guadian is making the move anyway.

LinkedIn is now offering a generative AI tool that writes your posts for you. It’s a proper brand killing idea. This weeks column not written by AI.
#brand #AI #smartloo

Ok, ok I know nothing will come of this other than me looking like a total wanker but I cannot resist.

18 months ago I wrote a scathing but supportive article about Unilever's approach to brand purpose. I think Unilever are an amazing company BUT their obsession applying purpose to ALL their brands ALL the time ALL over the world runs counter to the basic principles of brand management. I wrote a column on it - https://lnkd.in/ebsdzMDM. The main criticism from it...

“The idea of purpose as strategic choice has extra application for multi-brand companies like Unilever, LVMH and P&G. These companies have all learned to operate using a house of brands approach in their brand architecture. That means stepping back and allowing each brand to do its own thing. What works for Peter cannot, should not, work for Pauline. And the capability to allow different flowers to bloom is one of the hardest and most important lessons of multi-brand management. And it’s a lesson that should be applied to brand purpose and the strategic choice to position on it or not. Some brands in a multi-brand group should be purpose-driven and some, by definition of market, heritage, category and competition, should not...If Unilever executives are intent on positioning Hellmann’s or Magnum ice cream using brand purpose, then they are branding morons. But I am sure they are not. Surely a company smart enough to manage such a wide portfolio of brands so well, for so long, has grasped the fact that purpose is a strategic choice not only at the inter-corporate level but also, for organisations like Unilever with multiple brands, at the intra-corporate level too“.

So it's pleasing and relieving to see the news that under its new CEO Unilever is adopting exactly this approach. I actually got a load of shit from a lot of people because I was “anti-purpose“ at the time. The key section from the Marketing Week story - https://lnkd.in/en9xuXJb - is:

“Unilever has become synonymous with the idea of placing purpose at the heart of its brands – but its new CEO looks set to change that. Former Heinz chief financial officer Hein Schumacher took over as CEO of the consumer goods giant in July. Today (26 October) he told investors that the company would stop “force fitting” purpose to all its brands... Schumacher did not dismiss the concept of purpose outright, however, acknowledging the company’s focus on delivering on purpose “inspires many people to join and stay with Unilever”. “When done well, and with credibility, [brand purpose] can be highly effective,” he said, pointing to examples like Dove and Lifebuoy. “But we will not force fit this across the entire portfolio, for some brands it simply won’t be relevant and that’s okay,” he added.

There is a growing tendency on social media to have a quick go on ChatGPT at something, demonstrate how shit the output is, then conclude that AI is a load of bollocks and everything 20th century is safe and superior.

Can I suggest these little experiments are not evidence of the failings of AI but merely proof that doing something amateur, half arsed and in a hurry is always going to be shithouse.

I could take up the piano and by next week have a crack at Mozart. It would not be good. That’s not evidence of the failings of pianos, sonatas or the immortal Austrian composer. It’s proof that fucking about on a piano for a few days is futile and pointless for a bozo like me.

In the same way someone banging away at ChatGPT in their underpants to produce ads/ slogans / synthetic data / jingles and then posting about how bad they are signals nothing. Other than they have too much time on their hands and a total lack of perspective. I’m not saying the AI revolution will be all it’s cracked up to be. But I am saying that these odd DIYChatGPT experiments don’t offer any insight either way.

Now, after three.....

#LesDawson #AI

Friends,

I have been using Alex Sayenko for many years. He is an excel genius - and I use those words accurately. He can complete freelance work via upwork quickly and at an advanced level I have NOT SEEN ANYONE ELSE GET CLOSE TO. Don't think about excel projects, think about any data exercise and Alex can do it. Fast. Cheap. Amazing.

Alex and his wife and family live in Dnipro City and because of elderly parents cannot leave. They are able to work and if you want to do something about this horrible Russian bullshit and also gain a significant competitive advantage please consider Alex for any future projects. I can vouch for him. He is amazing.

Deets below.

mark

The empirical work that Andrew Tindall has done on consistency is outstanding. Perhaps the most important insight of the marketing year. This weeks column.

One of my great strengths - which frequently humbles me - is how I can adapt my approach to different places and cultures. Here I am in Copenhagen seemleasly switching gears to suit a Danish audience.
#culturalninja

Holy shit! There are way, way, way, too many reflections on LinkedIn today.

Crap! This is another.

Transformation at Nestle. A good, marketing savvy CEO now leads it. This weeks Drum column.

Despite our obsession with death in marketing, nothing actually dies. Comforting final ADWEEK column for 2026.

https://lnkd.in/gf6G4E2h

So many interesting angles here. The need for market orientation. The power of pretesting. The value of existing advertising. Great stuff from Tindall..

Playing with your brand codes can be very rewarding, but have British Airways gone too far with their new outdoor ad? This week's column for The Drum. https://lnkd.in/gyeXvMaA

Does WPPs new CEO know what she’s doing? Not sure. This weeks The Drum column.

https://lnkd.in/gtxGSnh8

Up yours Kevin Rudd.