Storytelling. It's what separates memorable brands from those you...what was I saying? You get the picture.

Just stumbled upon this ad in the newest issue of People magazine. Sharing it here for two reasons:

1). If a recipe -- that's right, a recipe -- can be turned into a love story gone awry, stoking a need for chocolately comfort, then what excuse does your brand have for not telling its story? I read every last word of this ad, even the cooking time and temperature, because it was woven into an amusing and well-written narrative (promote that copywriter).

2). Secondly, I have been waiting nine years for the right opportunity to share this next tidbit. The minute I saw this ad, I realized this was it. Here goes:

When my older son, Henry, was three -- he's now 12, so do the math; this story is nine years old as  promised -- we were out for family brunch. Henry was busily playing with the sugar packets in their little container, separating and organizing them. He picked up one SUGAR IN THE RAW packet (told you this was relevant) and said "Mama, what's this?"

"That's sugar," I replied.

He then said: "From Home Depot?" 

That little bugger recognized the same font (called Stencil D for any typography geeks out there) in drastically different settings, contexts and even colors. So the second lesson this ad inspires is about the importance of graphic standards. Honor and uphold them. If a child who still wears diapers associates a brand with its font, you can bet your customers do, too.

That's it for today. Gotta go bake some brownies...

Labels: branding, storytelling, typography

Please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below, even if -- no, especially if -- you don't agree with what I've written.