• Advertising Age, Friday, June 3, 2011 10:30 AM

Brand guru Al Ries uses Starbucks as an example of a company that no longer advertises its coffee shops and whose logo no longer says "Starbucks." He says that evolution is typical of a brand that stands for something that becomes a hat stand for a range of products of services far from its core offering.

He also says the same for a certain famous P&G oral brand. "There is no such thing as a Crest advertising program," he writes, pointing out that Crest is no longer a cavity-prevention toothpaste but a toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, dental floss and tooth whitener. He says the problem in the auto industry is that advertisers are touting individual models, not the brand.

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