Tone of Voice of the Month

It's the big writing issue du jour: tone of voice. But despite the enormous amount of interest, and hours of corporate hand-wringing over what's the right tone of voice, you rarely see a genuinely different or innovative voice from any brand.

So it was impressive to see Ford introducing a dramatically new tone of voice for its 'Bold Moves' initiative. Although perhaps a bit 'American' to British ears, you've got to hand it to them for being unusually candid. Most 'turnaround' exercises shy away from talking about the real reasons for the turnaround. But a recent new 'episode' on Ford's Bold Moves website begins, "As news of Ford's disappointing financial performance hits Wall Street once again..."

The accompanying video also makes few bones about the reason for rethinking the business. The fact that Ford had just posted a $123m loss for the latest quarter is not one you'd have expected them to make a lot of noise about.

It takes a brave brand to be that up-front. As always, of course, the actions of the business will speak louder than any words, but what's compelling about this tone is that it makes you think, "If they're going to be that open about it, they'll have to act - because now everyone knows what's going on."

Of course, all this apparent candour will be masking some very careful editing and shrewd PR. And there's plenty of sugar to go with the pill. But Ford is showing that you don't have to pretend everything's going right when it isn't. Perhaps if you're prepared to be honest about the problems, people will believe you when you say you've got a solution.

They're also showing that a tone of voice is not just about how you speak - it's about having something to say.

Naming Boo-boo of the Month

Naming is much on my mind just now, both for products and for babies. In both cases, you want to make sure the name you provide doesn't leave the namee vulnerable to jeers and jibes from its contemporaries.

The new ads for Pepsi Max show just how easy it can be to slip up, at least on the product front. Coca-Cola, you've probably noticed, have launched "Coca-Cola Zero", which has zero sugar in it. (What, one asks, about Diet Coke? But that's another story.)

No sooner have Coke launched this new brand, however, than their arch enemies are running an ad campaign comparing "Zero" witheringly to "Max". Oops. Should have seen that one coming, really.

I know it shouldn't...

...but the news that those corporate vandals at French Connection UK have just posted a loss of £3.6m makes me very, very pleased. Perhaps this is evidence that cheap, cynical branding can only ever win you a temporary boost, and offers little in the way of sustainable growth. I do hope so.

Many of you will know that the fcuk brand is a personal bete noir of mine. In fact, my first thought on hearing about Purpose's Bad Design Amnesty (left) was, "Fantastic, I can lay into fcuk!" And I did.

If you'd like a preview of the piece, click here for a PDF. But make sure you go along to the exhibition as well - it's great fun. (Click here for the details on Purpose's site.)