Beyond Urban Branding

This is easily my favorite Jay Z song. It is so powerful. As big as he ism I feel many of his more recent fans do not understand the depth of his lyricism and ability. Budweiser made a great choice in choosing him. Nobody in rap is as big ass Jay Z right now. Everything connected to him is winning. There is no better artist to be associate with. This ad is done crisp and clean. Nothing super flashy, just the feeling of almost being there...Feeling like you are a part of it...Solid....Somebody asked me if I think anybody will buy what he drinks cause of this ad. The answer, is YES! Here is the original version:

I know a lot about this trend. I was a teenager when it was unfolding. This was an amazing time. The cross-cultural dynamic of football and Hip-Hop has never been the same.

John Travolta in a Brazilian rum ad.

Resse's has been sticking with the urban feel for their commercials for a few years now. It must be working. The interesting thing is that they do small things to attract parents and kids to the brand. Its very subtle, but effective. They are sure to use kids of various races, so nobody feels left out. They always use an uptempo rap that chants the letters of the brand in creative ways. These guys pay attention. This one has a bit of a reto feel. All the haircuts are from the 80's. I suspect thats done to attract parents while the music and the editing and the cuts are meant for kids. Well played, Mr. Reese....well played.

One of the many songs where Nas mentions Hennessy. His shout outs to the brand go back to songs like Memory Lane which dropped on Illmatic on April 19th 1994. The connection between Hennessy and Hip-Hop is so old its hard to say what rap record shouted it out first (I will look into that). But since it did, man, nobody ever looked back. I feel deeply conlficted because on one hand alcohol abuse is so rapant in urban communities. On the other it is impressive to see somone like Nas, who truly started from the bottom get the attention of brands like Hennessy and see them acknowledge his role in the growth of their brand. Keep in mind, many MANY brands have gotten huge jumps in brand awareness, positioning, penetration, retention etc. from rappers loving their products they they NEVER batted an eye. I know this sounds silly, but, I'm happy for both of them.

This is easily one of my favorite ads of the year. It was written as cast brilliantly. Nothing more painful than to see a great actor with a bad script. The only thing worse is a great script, with a bad actor. I digress. This ad is fantastic. It plays of of the well known "book club" myth so many suburban moms use to get away from all the insanity that is motherhood. To see the kid play on that and flip it was masterfully done.

Episode 13: Jay Z and Samsung Take Everything to the Next Level, 2 Chainz Gets Jacked, A Pimps Redeption and Mark Weinstein Talks Internet Privacy LISTEN: www.bishopchronicles.com 

This is really great. Its an interview I did with David Frazee of K&L Gates. Very insightful stuff here. If you are trying to make something happen in business (especially if it deals with tech) give this a listen LISTEN: www.bishopchronicles.com 

On recovering from failure. Please listen to all of it.

From a keynote I gave a San Jose City Hall on Business and chess to more than 300 teenagers.