We Don’t Need No Stinking Branding

Lunch today was at the delicious yet powerfully aromatic Hot Rod Bar-B-Que which, in addition to a racing decor, broadcasts various car races on several TVs in the dining area.

For a moment our mealtime discussion touched on fascination at racing teams’ ability to sell every square inch of their cars, uniforms and equipment to sponsors. Over our loaded baked potatoes we marveled at the idea of someone racing a car with zero sponsorships. Imagine it: a solid black car with naught but a number on the hood. It’d stand out like a redneck on Rodeo Drive.

But this isn’t the first time we’ve daydreamed about anti-branding. When Brian had Bayou Bat Company, he toyed with the idea of developing a product called the “Stealth Bat”… no stain, no encircling ring, no logo on the barrel… nothing but a piece of wood. The concept didn’t come to fruition, but if it had it’d have been awesome.

The closest company we can think of that comes to an anti-brand is Halliburton. Their logo is strictly font and is the only mark ever displayed on their uniforms and equipment. I haven’t ever seen a Halliburton business card, but I suspect it’s just as sleek. Really, the only thing that would make their brand less brand-y would be dropping red for black.

The cool thing about the Halliburton brand is that it says, to me at least, “We aren’t here to sell you anything. We’re here to work.” ... oozes power and confidence to me.

And that’s our dream project: a company or product that is so bad a$$ that it don’t need no stinking branding (to borrow from Mel Brooks).

~Sarah, Emogen marketer