Why Lovemarks Are Bollocks

(or How Many Super Brands Can There Be?)

When Lovemarks first came out, I thought it was a reasonable concept. There are some brands that people love so much they'd have them as tattoos; Apple, Nike, Coca Cola, Harley Davidson are all good example of this.

When Superbrands first came I thought that was a good thing too.

But the problem with all these things is that they just include too many brands. Far, far too many.

Here's a few Superbrands. Just a few you understand.

And here's 20 Lovemarks from the Top 200.

The Top 200! There are a lot more than 200, but these are the Top 200! Ridiculous!

How many super brands are there really? If we want to take Lovemarks and Superbrands seriously, and thus give the rankings some value, surely there are only around 20 or so in the world. I'm talking about big, big iconic brands. Disney. Coca Cola. Ferrari.

Not bloody Ace of Base.

Comments

[Will]

The Lovemarks site is kind of a double edged sword; on one hand, you want people to view, vote and so on, but as a result, it becomes very flavour of the month.

Last time I checked, I think a Bollywood actor was top of the pile? Comparing him with Coke or Nike in the average person's consciousness is like comparing the Malvern Hills with Everest.

But then, I suppose the site is testament to one thing; what you and I consider to be 'super brands' just don't figure in the consciousness of others: they are so ubiquitous, they are assumed to be always there, and as such, more flavour of the month brands rise to the top.

I'd be interested to hear what others think.

[Rob Mortimer]

Three Bollywood actors in the top ten, that's what you get when it runs on a popularity contest style voting.

That said, having seen the devotion that Bollywood fans have for SRK and other actors like Aamir Khan; being in a high place on that chart seems perfectly justified.

I think there are thousands of brands that have strong attachements in this way, and while the audiences that love them may be much much smaller, they are no less passionate than fans of (say) apple.

[Rob Mortimer]

Wow. Just realised how old this post is... stupid spam comment driving me here!