MURKETING

Archival Consumed: A Spoonful of Attitude

[Vitaminwater]

By his own account, J. Darius Bikoff was ”confused” when he looked at the labels on bottled water — the ones showing images of streams and mountains. The connection between the packaging and the benefits of the water itself seemed vague. So Bikoff took a different approach when he got into the beverage business and created Vitaminwater, which he says now sells two million bottles a day. Read more

Archival Consumed: Conscience Undercover

[American Apparel]

The easiest way to add meaning (and marketability) to a commodity item of clothing — T-shirt, sweatshirt, underpants — is to add a logo. It could be a brand name or even a symbol or set of colors: the Nike swoosh, the logo of the Strokes, the colors of Tommy Hilfiger or just the words Abercrombie & Fitch. Absent such a signifier, the clothing is merely clothing. Or at least that’s the general thinking.

But it doesn’t really explain American Apparel, which offers its customers nothing but unlogoed casual wear and now has 2,000 employees cranking out a million garments a week, with sales of $80 million last year. Read more