Beyond Urban Branding

Is Jay Z going to hit his mark with Tidal? NBC 11's Scott Budman checks in with Adisa Banjoko on the Bishop Chronicles Podcast to cover that, VC funding and diversity in the Silicon Valley. LISTEN NOW: www.bishopchronicles.com (be sure to subscribe on iTunes)

Pharell Williams created a storm of controversy. I mean a few hours into the Grammy's it had its own Twitter account. While, I thought some of the ribbing was cute on the surface, what almost the entire planet missed was that his hat, was originally sported by Malcolm McLaren. Malcolm McLaren was an innovator of fashion, hip-hop and punk rock. EXHIBIT A: VIDEO WHERE MALCOLM ROCKS THE SAME HAT: BUFFALO GALS  Malcolm McLaren really touched my life. His album with the World Famous Supreme Team changed my life. Almost as much as Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. It was more than Hip-Hop, it was defiantly African and, Latin and even a little rock and country. When I was invited to be part of the book The Boombox Project , part of my hope was that I could share Malcolm McLarens impact on my life directly to him. Sadly he passed before the book was released. Much respect to Pharell.

"My Limo" by Da Rich Kidzz K Mart really did a good thing. When I was a kid, they used to tease you by saying your clothes came from K Mart. So K Mart flipped the strategy, reframed ads around good clothes at a good price and HIT BIG with these ads. I love them all. Not just because they used all kinds of kids, but they let a Black girl with dark skin have a prominent role in the ad. Thats huge.  The sad thing is, a lot of super racist and bad comments flooded the youtube channel. Reminds you that everybody is not ready for diversity. But we are, and thats what matters. Great strategy, well executed....one of my favorite ad campaigns of the year. 

So powerful, this is it. This is why we get up, this is why we eat good, this is why we train, this is why we dream big. This is why we fight so hard on the field. I love this add!!!

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:

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.

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 

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

Then a few days after this song goes across the planet HipHopDX  writes that Theraflu announces its doing a   Law suit  against West (as if they hated all the publicity). Now this is amazing right? I mean, they get publicity through the roof, because of Hip-Hop. Then they turn around and tell a half asleep attorney on retainer to send something to West and get...MORE PUBLICITY... Yeah, because, we understand how the Theraflu brand was cut deep and had brand issues cause one song put 'em in so many living rooms and iPods they could not take it. If anything, all the kids who are 15 years old right now just got locked in to buying Theraflu for the next 40 years. They need to cut Kanye a check and thank him. BTW, this song is explicit. But you should know that because you can read the screen above you...

It was 1985. Most people did not even recognize rap as an art. Nevertheless, Gucci was getting branding via rapper Schoolly D. You may not know this song. But every person who knows Hip-Hop history knows this song, had this song and wanted a Gucci watch because of it. Schoolly D also did the college campus cult classic intro for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force on Cartoon Network. Gotta love Schoolly School!!! It pays to use old school raps and rappers in new school branding.

Now you wanna buy me diamonds and Armani suits Adrienne Vittadini and Chanel Nine boots Things to make up for all the games and the lies Hallmark cards, sayin I apologize - Lil Kim "Get Money" -Beyond Urban Branding beyondurban@gmail.com

Kia Motors has been doing a lot to try and battle Scion for the young urban automotive market. Recently Kia came with this hamster campaign. Initially, I was not feeling it. I thought the first commercial (seen below) was paced way too slow. But I got the point. Kia Motors is not making cars for Gramps any more. This is for you (todays driver)! They make sure you see the iPod connected to the radio, speakers that light up etc.  But the NEW ad, the one up above, is fantastic. Paced well, shot well, they used a classic Hip-Hop by Black Sheep (The Choice is Yours)to keep the vibe poppin'. I can't imagine a young person who would see this and not want to drive a Kia (or at least consider it ).  For your listening pleasure, I have placed the original video of Black Sheep for your listening enjoyment. -Beyond Urban Branding beyondurban@gmail.com

 Here is a fantastic documentary on sneakers on the huge shoe culture explosion that erupted (in large reason) because of Hip-Hop. My man Leo laced me with his info. Part 1.  Part. 2 -Beyond Urban Branding beyondurban@gmail.com

Red Dead Redemption Launch Trailer - Watch more Game Trailers Red Dead...

The search engine Bing.com has a funny new ad done entirely in Spanish. Its made to be a mockery of Latino soaps that can be found on Telemundo type stations. The subtitles are in English. The camera shots, outfits, everything screams soap opera cheese. I think its cool 'cause it really does hit to demos with one ad and nobody is demeaned culturally in the ad. Bing.com has made a few cool ads. I've posted some of the other ones I like below: I love the idea of reframing their function from "search" engine to "decision engine".

I think I might remember this ad forever. If ads are funny, I tend to remember them WAY more than others. Comedy always breaks through. -Beyond Urban Branding beyondurban@gmail.com

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Introduction Trailer - Watch more Game Trailers You know, I've never been a big gamer. I've loved them, but never been obsessed like some of my friends. But this, this here could do it. -Beyond Urban Branding beyondurban@gmail.com

I love the phone wars. Apple, Samsung and Google just go after one another. With all the cool movies like Iron Man and stuff coming out, the above ad peaks interest. Can the Android take a bite outta the Apple? Only time will tell... -Beyond Urban Branding beyondurban@gmail.com