The PR Blog

In the fiercely competitive landscape of brand marketing, some companies rise to greatness while others stumble and fall. Why do some prosper and others fail? What were the secrets behind the successes and failures of three iconic brands: Indian, Harley Davidson, and Budweiser.

Indian and Harley Davidson, two legendary motorcycle manufacturers, have left an indelible mark on the industry with their rich heritage, passionate fan base, and powerful marketing campaigns. Their ability to evoke emotions, foster community, and cultivate brand loyalty has been the envy of many competitors.

In contrast, Budweiser, a well-known beer brand, recently experienced a significant marketing flop that left consumers perplexed and questioning its direction. And boy oh boy, did it flop. 

The 16/17th May marks this most famous raid of WW2, the destruction of the Ruhr dams with the bouncing bomb. The story is so well known and has been told so often I do not think I could do it any more justice than has already been written so many times.

Instead, I propose to concentrate on the three leading characters of the story. They are 617 Squadron, RAF, its squadron leader, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, VC. and Barnes Wallis, the inventor of the bouncing bomb.

617 squadron, better known as The Dambusters Squadron, came into being on 21^st March, 1943 at Scampton in Lincolnshire, specifically at the direction of Air Marshall “Bomber” Harris, Commanding Officer of Bomber Command. Harris personally appointed Gibson to command it and gave him carte blanche in selecting the personnel from any squadron in the RAF or attached Dominion air forces. At the time of his appointment and for some time afterwards Gibson was not allowed to be told the target, only that it was a very secret mission requiring very low altitude flying against a critical target.

" The benefits of government can vary depending on the specific form of government and its effectiveness. Here are some general benefits associated with well-functioning governments:"

And therein lies the rub: what is a well functioning government? 

What makes it the thing that we will vote for, support and defend? 

What makes us actually WANT a government? To pay taxes? To be brow beaten?  Seriously, why do we have a government? 

“To be GOVERNED is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so. To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, disarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.”

The concept of Mother’s Day as we know it in Australia began in the United States in the days of the Civil War by two ladies who were Peace advocates and suffragettes. They started a campaign to care for wounded soldiers from both sides by creating Mother’s Day Work Clubs to improve public health.

They made a Mother’s Day proclamation in 1870 and called on mothers of all nationalities to join together and promote the amicable settlement of international disputes. The movement did not succeed. The lady’s name was Anna Jarvis but she persisted with the idea of setting aside a special day to honour all mothers because a mother is "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world".

What is it that makes us remember things from our past and, for some inexplicable reason, they stick with us?

Some things are from distant memories of childhoods lived and recalled with great fondness. Others talk about an incident from adulthood. In all cases, they feature an event that has stayed with us as a “ keeper “ in the file cabinet called our memory.

When people approach their end of useful life ( according to the young smart arses that think that they will live forever, or perish due to climate change before their 30^th birthday ) it seems to be that our minds retreat to happier times that our brains chose to save, while deleting so many thousands of days.

Why is that?