What part does advertising play in growing and maintaining a brand? In The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR authors Al Ries and Laura Ries argue that advertising may be useful in maintaining a brand, but it is a waste of money in the launch or reposition of a brand. Citing major campaigns for global brands such as Nike, Budweiser and Chevrolet, they proclaim that advertising, as a vehicle for brand building, is ineffectual.Publicly suggesting that advertising may be a waste of time in building a brand obviously generates a lot of excitement among ad agencies as well as anxiety among brand managers with tight budgets. To cite major advertising campaigns such as Budweiser's Whassup?, Milk's Mustache, Nike's Just Do It, MasterCard's For Everything Else and Taco Bell's Chihuahua as examples of brands that lost equity from advertising, as Ries and Ries have done, creates even more foaming at the mouth among those responsible for the brand or management of the account. But are the authors right in their assertions? Is advertising ineffectual in brand building or repositioning?
[...]
Ries and Ries no doubt have a thought-provoking argument on the best way to build and maintain a brand. However, the success or failure of brand management relies on more than one or two factors. From product to distribution, pricing to customer service, public relations to advertising, and financial resources to management talent, successful branding is an all encompassing multidimensional process.
