Inspirational Consumer: June 2004

Charlie Stone, New Zealand

My name is Charlie and many people I know talk about Lovemarks. It wasn’t until the Beatles popped up in the top ten on Lovemarks.com that I fully understood the Lovemark concept.

From an advertising perspective, how utterly amazing to have product brands keep the company of such endearing touchstones as the Beatles and Dr. Seuss. All the nominations that seem strange, well... they deserve revisiting in this new light. The cynical tend to focus on one angle, that companies are being told by their advertisers to give them better products to sell. They don’t get it and never will. The enthusiasts, on the other hand, realise that “Lovemark” is just terminology... recognition of a great product.

Many first-time site visitors seem to be confused as to what exactly a Lovemark is. But when they see the brilliant Love-Respect axis, the penny drops. I am a dedicated consumer with unique tastes and requirements.

I have had my curiosity aroused by about fifty nominated Lovemarks that I didn’t know beforehand, as well as getting a great deal of satisfaction reading stories about the ones I already knew and agreed with (but found it had already been said better than I could). There are a few more destinations now on my next year’s consumption itinerary.

I believe the Lovemark concept is tremendously powerful. From companies to governments to marriages in trouble, the whole world can benefit from a large dose of the “make me love you again” concept. But conspicuously being driven too hard by advertisers could be fatal. Kevin Roberts has laid this out clearly, several times referring in his speeches to the ball being in the court of the companies producing the goods. Lovemarks has been the most refreshing example of a good virus in years.