The following column examines and critiques commercial design, as well as provides commentary on current issues and trends in the design industry.

In her vitriolic anti-branding broadside, No Logo, Naomi Klein rails against the growing amount of ‘space’ that brands have invaded over recent years. Not just in the built environment, where almost any bare wall bigger than 20 square feet has become colonized (her word) by one brand or another, but more importantly, in our minds, our ‘mental space’.

Whether brands are actually capable of ‘colonizing’ the cerebral cortex is a question better left to neurophysiological research. Klein is just the latest in a short list of media critics who have inherited McLuhan’s glib habit of assuming authority on how the brain works, and use it to add what is nothing more than rhetorical weight to their ideas. But, bad habits notwithstanding, let’s give credit where credit is due: Klein has correctly noticed the propensity brands have for working their way into our lives through whatever channels are open to them. Give ‘em an inch, and they’ll almost always take a mile.

I am put in mind of an ad that ran in the last issue of Marketing magazine. It was placed by YTV, and showed a photo of a Gameboy-like toy with a message on its game screen: ‘Until you can buy space here, you can’t beat YTV.’ The copy goes on to say that although the idea isn’t so far-fetched, you shouldn’t hold your breath, and the best way to reach kids in the meantime is to buy time on YTV.

I’m going to take issue with the copywriter of this ad: go ahead, hold your breath. It ain’t as far-fetched as you think. As I write this article, the world’s largest wireless trade show – Wireless 2000 – is in full swing down in New Orleans, and the focus of this conference is what’s called ‘mobile commerce’. Mobile commerce has everyone in the e-commerce and wireless industries hotter than a Latin Quarter hooker in July because it vastly expands the access that online brands will have to their customers.

For those of you who haven’t been following this particular story, mobile commerce is, at its simplest, the ability to access the Internet through your mobile phone. So imagine the possibilities. On the sell side, this represents enormous potential for improved CRM (customer relationship management). With this technology, a supermarket you shop at will be able to identify when you might be running out of something you bought a week ago, and send you a message to remind you when and where you can conveniently replenish your supply. It might even take the opportunity to suggest what would go with it. Then it could relay your order back to the store and have it ready for you when you arrive, or better yet, have it waiting for you at home.

Needless to say, all the major players are rushing to build the platforms and applications (now called WAP, or wireless application protocol) that will enable this new channel. In the U.K., Vodaphone has hired Razorfish to design its wireless Internet portal. Microsoft has a deal with Qualcomm to provide Web-enabling software to the wireless device maker. Wysdom, the Toronto-based WAP firm, is working with Lycos to launch a wireless Internet portal in a few weeks. And the list goes on.

Now imagine you are Sega. Sega already makes a handheld computer game that can capture TV broadcast signals with the addition of a small antenna. Once a WAP platform is available, what’s to prevent Sega or Nintendo from partnering with a wireless provider to create kid-focused CRM applications such as the ‘adult’ one described above?

One of the problems with buying computer games is that kids master them quickly and then chuck them back into the toy chest to gather dust. In our house, there are no computer games in the toy chest. When my daughter wants to play, she rents one from Blockbuster. With WAP, she’ll be able to download them, test them, and then rent whatever she wants. And the manufacturer will be able to send messages about new products, or set up incentive programs that will allow kids to accumulate points against the cost of future downloads. To overcome the lack of a credit card, the manufacturer could sell prepaid cards like the ones we now use for telephony. Again, the list goes on.

So does this represent a colonization of ‘mental space’? Probably not, but it does represent the colonization of palmtop space, and frankly, that space has already been bought. Does it worry me that my daughter’s hand will be ‘owned’ by Sega, or Nintendo? Frankly, no. She is quite independently capable of washing her hands and using them to pick up a book or a paint brush, a decision she makes all the time. Nobody owns her mind but her. I suspect it’s the same for many other children.

Will Novosedlik is a principal of Russell Inc. in Toronto. Russell Inc. builds brands with differentiation and emotional appeal for top-tier companies in both Canada and the u.s. Please direct correspondence by e-mail to will.novosedlik@russellinc.com or by phone at (416) 591-6677.

By Karen Howe

I’m attending Cannes from the glory of my dining room table. There’s not a palm tree in sight, yet inspiration and intel are present in abundance.

Cannes Lions is a global cultural pulse check. The social course correction in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and BLM has delivered far greater diversity in the judging panels as well as the work. And we are all better for it.

I’m proud to say that creativity defeated COVID, which speaks to its power. Great work and big ideas flourished, despite unimaginable odds.

The work from the past two years spans a vast emotional range. From the profundity of Dove’s “Courage is Beautiful” to the hyper exuberance of Burberry’s “Festive,” they are opposite ends of the spectrum, but each answered a need in us.

Take note, the ascendency of gaming cannot be understated. Smart brands have embraced the channel. It makes sense, because gamers participate to meet others around the world, not just to play. And they represent a huge and powerful community. That’s why QSR Wendy’s gamified their iconic gal in RPG’s Feast of Legends.

Burger King sponsored the unknown Stevenage Football Club, transforming the team into online heroes and vaulting BK into the fray at the same time. Once again, the brand embedded itself in culture.

The birth of gaming tourism arrived when Xbox snuggled up to travel guides and created a brilliant baby: a travel guide for gaming worlds. It, too, embedded itself in culture.

From the standpoint of social good, Reporter Without Borders showed how it worked with Mindcraft for its “Uncensored Library” to bypass press censorship, with Minecraft providing a loophole to a space where young people could be educated. It provided youth with a powerful tool to fight oppression: truth.

COVID changed us in unexpected ways. We learned how to pay attention again and there was a notable lack of 30-second commercials. Instead, longer format content thrived. Apple’s WFH was seven minutes long. Entertainment reigned king, so we find ourselves returning to our advertising roots.

Seeing competitive brands form partnerships was one of this year’s other great surprises. The brilliantly simple “Beer Cap Project” by Aguila to reduce binge-drinking saw the brand reach out to competitive beers to join in. Aguila put incentivizing (keyword: free) reminders to drink water, eat food and get home safely on its bottle caps from all sorts of fast food chains, ride-share co’s and H2O brands.

On a personal level, I’m so proud of Canada again this year. Given that it was two years of work from all over the world being judged, even making the Cannes shortlist was an accomplishment. Canada is herding in the Lions in tremendous numbers – and it’s not even over. Fingers are crossed.

Karen Howe is a Canadian Cannes Advisory Board Member and founder of The Township Group