Here was proof of the decline of the Stella brand I used to love. A victim of its own success, you might argue, but now, however unfairly, associated with the mass adoption of what used to be called 'premium' lagers by the pint-swilling males of this land. The moment it became known as 'wife beater', Stella was in trouble. It's an epithet that was quickly adopted across the nation, in part thanks to the connectivity of the web.
Yet, seemingly unaware that the tide was turning against it, the brand's owner, Inbev, continued to position Stella as an upmarket and discerning choice. I used to marvel at the magnificent cheek of it all, as I walked past its massive, discounted, point-of-sale presence in my local supermarket. 'Reassuringly expensive' remains one the great advertising lines of all time - but Stella became a top-five FMCG brand because it was piled high and sold cheap.
This 'disconnect' between marketing promise and purchase point reality was mirrored at the point of consumption too. In blind taste tests, Stella fared poorly, but in branded tests it came out on top - a sure sign of marketing success in the classical tradition.
But internet age brands do not rely on such disconnects. The product, the consumption experience and the marketing are far more closely aligned in a brand like Innocent. Not as closely as with Google, whose user experience is its marketing, but way closer than Stella, or Tango, or so many of the other great brands made by advertising in the 1990s.
So Stella's decline may not have been caused by digital, but it is a sign of the digital times. Empowered consumers demand transparency and they sniff out and expose disconnects more quickly and effectively. Which makes me think that one of the oldest advertising philosophies may be ready for a return to vogue. McCann-Erickson's patented slogan from 1926, 'truth well told', has never been more relevant than today - although it might have to be rewritten for our interactive age as 'truth well experienced'.
- John Owen is planning director of digital agency dare and former chairman of the IPA Digital Marketing Group, john.owen@haynet.com.
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