Some consumers are using Chock full o'Nuts coffee cans as burial urns for loved ones.  Apparently they've been inspired by the recent Warner Bros. movie, "The Bucket List" about two terminally ill men, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson who go on a road trip to do the things they've always wanted to do before they 'kick the bucket.' After their deaths, two  Chock full o'Nuts coffee cans were used as burial urns.

Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA (MZB), manufacturer of Chock full o' Nuts coffee, reports that when an Ontario, Canada woman was unable to purchase Chock full o' Nuts coffee in her area, she asked the company for help. "My husband has terminal colon cancer,” she explained. “We went to see the movie 'The Bucket List'...my husband was deeply impacted by the end of the movie, so much that he said that's what I want at my funeral ...a Chock full o' Nuts coffee can for my ashes to be placed in."

Noting that “Inspiration can be found in the most unlikely of places,” the company has established http://www.chockfullonuts.com/stories/ where people can read and share stories of how they’ve memorialized their loved ones.” Besides, Chock full o’Nuts for years has been known as “The Heavenly Coffee.”

Image Credit: Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA /Newscom

• According to the Wall Street Journal Online, “makers of dishwasher detergent and fabric freshener are dressing up their packaging in the hopes that consumers will showcase the bottles when they're not using them. Instead of relying on bold colors and big logos to make these items jump off the store shelves, marketers are coming up with subtler packaging that they believe better meshes with shoppers' home decor.” Requires WSJ Subscription.
• The Travel Industry Association Survey says frustration with air travel has resulted in a $26.5 billion ‘hit’ to the U.S. economy as travelers avoided roughly 41 million trips over the past twelve months. And traveler attitudes are unlikely to change even as gas prices  climb, representing continued lost opportunities for carriers. From MarketingCharts.
• Honda ups the ante with “the first ever live advert on British television” featuring 19 skydivers who will spell out the word Honda as part of the company advertising campaign, “Difficult is worth doing.” Here's the the first letter. For the full video click here.
  From AdFreak.

The use of celebrity endorsers is a common---and tricky---brand building strategy. Consider these recent ‘incidents’ involving celebrity endorsers:

Christian Dior dropped celebrity spokesperson Sharon Stone from their advertising in China, after the actress suggested that recent earthquakes there were “karmic retribution for Beijing’s treatment of Tibet.”

Conservative bloggers protested a Dunkin Donuts ad that featured Rachel Ray wearing a scarf that they charged resembled keffiyeh, the patterned and fringed scarf that is the traditional headdress of Arab men---and associated by some Americans with terrorism.

A 2007 print ad for Deréon Girls, Beyoncé’s fashion line for young girls, resurfaced as the target of criticism by a new round of bloggers for oversexualizing and ‘tarting up’ young girls. The label is an offshoot of the Hip Hop fashion House of Deréon.

Celebrity endorsements have the potential to significantly raise sales and market share, and introduce the brand to a new target audience. For example, Forbes reports that Chanel’s endorsement deal with spokes icon Nicole Kidman increased business by nearly 16%, without any changes in fragrance or packaging, because “all of a sudden, younger women took notice of the brand.” (Reportedly Nicole Kidman is being replaced by "Amelie" star Audrey Tautou)

But endorsement deals can turn bad in an instant. Who can forget actor Ben Curtis’ famous utterance, “Dude, you’re getting a Dell”? The consumer campaign, was “hugely successful” for Dell Computer Corp. In 2002 Dell began to transition away from Curtis’ character and it’s just as well since the actor was arrested for attempting to buy marijuana on Manhattan’s lower east side.

As a result, the memorable line and character spawned a host of parodies and late night jokes, many of which were at the Dell brand’s expense. (See the left column for a video of one of the Dell ads. If the ad isn’t visible you can view it here.) After Kobe Bryant’s rape arrest, Nutella and McDonald’s hastily dropped their agreements with the basketball star.

Celebrities are human after all; it’s impossible for marketers to remove every bit of risk from a deal. But here are three things every marketer must to enhance the potential for celebrity endorsement success:

Going Global? Make sure you understand cultural sensitivities.
Blogger Daisy Kong asks why Dior would pick Sharon Stone to endorse their brand in China since her pro-Tibet stance is well known. Good question. Brands need to understand cultural sensitivities if they expect to succeed outside familiar turf.

Does the endorser/endorsee relationship make sense?
Seriously, when you think brand extensions for sexy, R&B star Beyoncé, do you immediately think children’s clothing line?  Strategically smart celebrity/brand pairings enhance the core brand equities of each partner---and this doesn’t work for either.

Put fires out quickly. Despite a marketer's best efforts, sometimes stuff just happens. In the case of Rachel Ray’s scarf, most critics were also fans--- even the most vocal doubted she was trying to make a political statement. (Personally, the only reaction that I had to Ray’s scarf was that it was unattractive. The connection between it and a keffiyeh didn’t occur to me.)

While it's absurd to suggest that Dunkin Donuts was promoting a terrorism symbol, the company was right not to provide fodder for those bloggers who live for controversy. The company simply pulled the ad and got back to making donuts.   

Credits
Rachel Ray photo from AdAge
Dereon Girls Print ad from BrownSista
Dell Dude Screen Shot from YouTube

Just about everyone who’s ever reached for an artificial sweetener knows the color code: pink is Sweet’ N Low, Splenda is yellow and Equal is blue. At least until recently. According to AdAge, NutraSweet plans to introduce their packets in the pink, yellow and blue colors of its competitors.

That’s not to say that they will have an easy time of it. Aspartame has its own vulnerabilities. Sucralose sweeteners, such as Splenda, have overtaken aspartame in market share, and the artificial sweetener category is commoditized. It will be tough to generate market share based on substantive brand differentiation so NutraSweet’s strategy to grab share from competitors is smart. Hopefully, they've planned additional smart strategies as a follow-up.