How branding works: a case study

AyreForceIsoAt some point last decade, cartoon illustrator Evan Munday must have gone on quite the bender, because he seems to have misplaced the last four years of his life (or at least, his memory of same). The guy just read Ayre Force this past year! Even more alarming, he refers to it as a vanity piece. I guess I’m a little disappointed that Evan can’t recognize a branding move when he sees one, but it does demonstrate yet again why guys who draw cartoons for a living don’t run successful companies.

The fact that people are still talking about Ayre Force four years after its release is a mark of success in the weird world of branding (where nearly anything anyone says about you is good, as long as they keep talking about you). Candidly, I never really liked the comic all that much myself, even after I added in all the gratuitous violence at the story’s end. But I digress…

Evan, you must have found that copy of Ayre Force in some comic lovers private collection, because I was not aware they were still for sale. Facebook me and I’ll send you an autographed copy for your mantle. As we’ve seen, it makes an excellent conversation piece. Thank you, Evan, for playing your small but nonetheless greatly appreciated role in helping to sustain the impact of my branding campaign. Cheers!