Why Great Brands Never Go Out of Style

A little history lesson from a funny-looking car

Long before algorithms and influencer contracts, a small, odd-shaped German car did something remarkable: it defined its own audience and talked to them like adults. The Volkswagen Beetle’s “Think Small” campaign didn’t try to be everything to everyone. It was honest, self-deprecating, and wickedly clever. It knew exactly who it was for.

Here’s the playbook: know your customer. Respect them. Make something good. Have a little fun. The channels, the formats, the algorithms — those are just delivery mechanisms. The soul of great advertising hasn’t moved an inch.

What has changed: consumers have become extraordinarily good at detecting fakery. When a brand’s advertising says one thing and its product delivers another, the internet finds out before the ink dries. Authenticity isn’t a brand value you put in a deck — it’s either real or it’s noise.

Heinz: a masterclass in knowing your customer

How far would you go to salvage your last drop of ketchup? Heinz put this to the test with its The Last Drop campaign — showing people doing wonderfully unhinged things to avoid wasting a single drop. The campaign was created in just five days. Worth noting: it was launched following consumer research showing customers will go the extra mile for their favorite Heinz products. The creative work flows naturally from genuine understanding. The humor lands because it’s true.

The new cult classics: brands built on belonging

Size has nothing to do with soul. Two brands prove it.

Oatly has grown rapidly but maintains a small-brand mentality through a cheeky, conversational tone. On TikTok and Instagram, it feels more like a weird friend than a brand. Customer service responses are human and fun — no corporate script in sight. And despite scaling into mainstream retail, the humorous packaging makes consumers feel like they’re supporting something cool, not a corporation.

Trader Joe’s operates with a small-town, personable feel — adored for unique products, genuinely friendly staff, and a cult following that talks about their weekly hauls the way other people talk about concerts. It doesn’t advertise in the traditional sense. Its customers do it for free, enthusiastically, constantly.

Both brands are the same at the checkout counter as they are in a comment section. That coherence is rare. It is also the whole game.

10 ways to turn an underperforming brand into a winner

Diagnose the root cause. Conduct a SWOT analysis and survey your customers. Is the problem poor marketing, product quality, or an obsolete offering? You can’t fix what you haven’t honestly named.
Revamp or pivot the core offering. Improve features, change the design, or pivot to a product line that solves a real customer problem. The market doesn’t owe loyalty to a product that hasn’t evolved.
Redefine the target audience. Narrow your focus to a specific niche — your most loyal 5% — and build around their needs. Trying to appeal to everyone moves nobody.
Rebrand and reconnect. Signal a clean slate with a fresh identity that reflects a genuine, purposeful story aligned with what your customers actually value.
Focus on high-impact products (the 80/20 rule). The 20% of products driving 80% of revenue deserve all your attention. Cut or outsource the rest. Complexity is the enemy of focus.
Reposition price points. Adjust pricing to reflect your new value proposition. Deliberately move away from commodity pricing wars — you can’t win them and feel good about it.
Overhaul digital marketing. Pivot from scattershot advertising to targeted social, content marketing, and smart influencer partnerships. Meet your customers where they are.
Transform the customer service experience. Every interaction is either a deposit or a withdrawal from the trust account. Focus on the “why” behind your brand — loyalty and word-of-mouth follow.
Adopt an adaptive strategy. Build a lean, agile model that reacts quickly to market changes, embraces new technologies, and isn’t afraid to outsource where it makes sense.
Secure leadership and cultural buy-in. Brand turnarounds are inside jobs first. Retrain or bring in new talent to shift the culture toward accountability and performance.