• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, October 1, 2012

Responding to an anonymous audience question about why so many new brands are having a difficult time these days, Unilever’s Rob Candelino quipped, “like Facebook,” pause, then adding, “Google?”

“I’m being a jerk to make a point,” Candelino said, reminding me of myself.

By the way, I completely agree with Candelino that successful new brands haven’t necessarily been having a tough go of it, and it’s not just digital brands. Go back to Al Ries’ great book, “The Decline Of Advertising, And The Rise Of PR,” and he cites oodles of brands – from Starbucks to Krispy Kreme – that were created successfully without one iota of advertising. Because what they did was create great products that were their brand.