Articles on Brands

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A “classic” ‘90s-style Pizza Hut represents a powerful window into how human beings interact with the past. Tracy A. Woodward/The Washington Post via Getty Images

What a western Pennsylvania ’90s‑style Pizza Hut reveals about nostalgia

A Carnegie Mellon University marketing researcher explains why the love of a retro Pizza Hut has more to do with the relationships attached to it than pizza.
Protesters appear in front of Starbucks Korea headquarters in Seoul after the company launched its ‘Tank Day’ campaign, which sparked widespread backlash. Kichul Shin/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Starbucks’ big marketing blunder in South Korea shows how cultural blind spots can put global brands in a bind

Translation is only part of the challenge for multinational companies. Words, slogans and symbols can take on entirely different meanings across cultures.
The author with her rare cardinal Squishmallow. A Redditor in the Squishmallow community sent her the rare plush for free to help her cope with grief over her father’s passing. Photographer: Danielle Hass

How Squishmallow collecting helped me cope with grief, make new enemies and find ‘villains’ worth studying

‘Brand communities’ are sites of surprising human drama. A marketing expert explains what she found by studying them.
An aerial view of Cape Town city. GettyImages

Cape Town’s sewage treatment isn’t coping: scientists are worried about what the city is telling the public

Current science communications in Cape Town are not serving the public well.
The bosses of Meta, Amazon, Google and Tesla at Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration. EPA-EFE/JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON / POOL

Major brands don’t need to kowtow to Trump: they have the power to bring people together

Whatever you think of his personality or politics, it’s impossible to deny the success of Donald Trump as a brand. Supporters and detractors across the world are transfixed by his second term as US president…

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