And the best watches, as everyone knows, are made in Switzerland.

Just like Scotch whiskey, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and Bordeaux wine, “Swiss-made” is a place-of-origin brand.

It’s not a Swiss-made watch unless the assembly work and testing of the movement take place in Switzerland. Swiss law also requires at least 50% of the components of the movement be manufactured in Switzerland.

Some well-known Swiss-made watches include Breitling, Patek Philippe, Hublot, Victorinox Swiss Army, Tissot, Rolex, TAG Heuer, Omega, Swatch, Movado, Baume & Mercier, Piaget, Concord, Longines, Bulova and Breguet.

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry constantly pursues counterfeiters trying to cash in on the Swiss-made allure. It also battles to protect the brand from Swiss manufacturers that outsource to China or are owned by foreign companies, some of whom are federation members.

Many of the trade union’s members want to toughen the place-of-origin standard to 80% of the entire watch, a change that would require the Swiss government to pass a new bill.

Doing so would strengthen the brand by guaranteeing the value and uniqueness of Swiss-made watches … and potentially put some Swiss watchmakers out of business.

What we wear, what we drink, what we drive.

And what we sit on.

In furniture retailer Havertys‘ new TV spot (below), a customer expresses her “oneness” with her customized chair.

Although the commercial cleverly promotes Havertys’ customization program, it does not differentiate the brand. The option to select fabrics and colors is commonplace within the category.

Nor is Havertys an affinity brand, the gold standard in marketing.

The spot does, however, support the theory that the brands we choose are outer manifestations of our inner selves.

Be careful where you sit.

Let’s say you obtained a rare Men’s Health endorsement.

Let’s say you are Planters.

What do you do with your fop of a spokes-character? You know, that cane-twirling, white-gloved, top-hatted dandy?

What Planters did was introduce him to a rough crowd (a pistachio and an almond) to toughen up his image. The three comprise Planters NUT-rition Men’s Health Recommended Mix, “the  manliest mix we’ve ever assembled.” (Watch TV spot below.)

“Men are grocery shopping more, and they want a healthy snack that they can feel confident putting in their cart,” said Scott Marcus, senior brand manager for Planters. “Our research shows that what men love about nuts is they see them as both healthy and manly. So, our nutritionists and developers teamed up with Men’s Health magazine, a trusted and respected authority on nutrition and manliness, to create what we think is an ideal, nutritious snack.”

Planters’ research indicates men:

• are choosing healthier snacks (53%).
• rate nuts as the second most “manly” snack after beef jerky.
• agree the peanut is the “manliest” nut (26%).
• are choosing to eat nuts because they are healthy (64%).

So why are Mr. Peanut and his new action-figure friends all wearing suits and ties?

And is that an insect(!) Mr. Peanut is putting the moves on?

Seems like these cartoon dandies are more geared to children.

For a variety of reasons, they may remain oblivious or choose to ignore a brand’s best efforts to engage them. Specifically:

• They may not care about a particular brand category. For example, they may not need home insurance. Marketing directed to them is wasted. At least, for now.

• Or they may not distinguish between the brands within a category. They may believe all brands of gasoline are identical. To them, gas is a commodity, so it doesn’t matter which brand they buy.

• They may not value a particular brand’s differentiating attribute. A car brand that centers on luxury may not resonate with consumers concerned about fuel economy.

• Some consumers are brand samplers by choice. They are intentionally disloyal to any particular brand because they enjoy experiencing multiple brands. For example, they may enjoy dining out at a variety of restaurants.

Strong brands target a well-defined set of desirable customers and work to build loyalty. They have the courage to differentiate, narrow their focus, and apply their resources where there is greater opportunity.

One size does not fit all.

Oreo, “Milk’s Favorite Cookie,” just turned one-hundred years old.

Since the first batch was delivered by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) in 1912, Oreo has become the world’s top-selling cookie with sales of $2 billion.

In celebration of the century mark, Oreo’s current owner, Kraft Foods, launched a print campaign featuring various cultural milestones from the last hundred years, such as prohibition, the peace movement, World Cup Soccer, etc. See some of the ads here.

Not only has the brand endured, but so has the cookie’s look. The current embossing on the biscuit was introduced in 1952. According to a post at The Atlantic, Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Paul Goldberger called the design “the stuff of legend.”

He said Oreo’s “even pattern, however dowdy, has an industrial, stamped-out quality. It might be said to combine homelike decoration with an American love of machine imagery, and in that combination lies a triumph of design.”

A design your great-great-grandkids may also enjoy.

Encyclopædia Britannica, for example.

In print continuously since 1768, Britannica‘s current edition comprises thirty-two bound volumes. Recently, the encyclopedia announced it will no longer publish printed editions, but will focus instead on its online version.

“The print edition became more difficult to maintain and wasn’t the best physical element to deliver the quality of our database and the quality of our editorial,” Jorge Cauz, Britannica‘s president, told Reuters.

Is Britannica‘s brand strong enough to survive this evolution?

Cauz thinks so. That’s because Britannica‘s brand centers on reliability. All of its articles are written by experts. It has more Nobel Prize-winning authors than any other encyclopedia, and employs a team of fact checkers to ensure its information is accurate and up-to-date. He claims he’s not worried about Wikipedia.

Brands are often challenged to rethink how they deliver. Many have succeeded. The list of top e-commerce websites, for example, includes numerous traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Staples, Office Depot, Walmart, Office Max, Sears, Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Victoria’s Secret, Macy’s, L.L. Bean, Target, Gap, and Williams-Sonoma.

Their success online demonstrates that strong brands are more than their delivery systems.

Unless you are Blockbuster Video.

The Blockbuster brand is essentially about watching movies and playing electronic games on your own schedule and in the comfort of your own home. However, segment-leader Blockbuster struggled to separate itself from its outdated delivery system. It was slow to switch from analog to digital, from storefront to online. Its hesitation opened the door for Netflix and Redbox, brands that now dominate the experience originally owned by Blockbuster.

Simply put, Blockbuster confused its brand with its distribution system. Britannica didn’t.

Worse, maybe you are not respected by motorcycle gangs.

This is where Ram Trucks can help.

For you men with low self-esteem, Ram will earn respect from the toughest crowd of all — bikers.

Ram’s TV spot (below) demonstrates what a 1500 Express can do for your self-worth. Surely, your life amounts to something if those free-wheelin’ rebels of the open road condescend to acknowledge your existence.

Why not accept the invitation implied by that stoic nod? Trade in that 1500 Express for a chopper and meet your new friends at the roadhouse for some much-needed psychotherapy.

Guts. Glory. Inadequacy.

Every time I got the ball, the home crowd booed me. This is the worse thing that’s ever happened to me.

I’m going to stutter. Everybody’s going to laugh at me.

What a bunch of wimps!

Not really. These are the words of three undeniably tough basketball legends — Tom Izzo, Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal.

Real men sharing real feelings is Dove Men+Care‘s strategy for pitching soap during the NCAA men’s basketball championship. In the series of TV spots, O’Neal talks about being teased, Izzo about being anxious, and Nash about being unpopular.

More typically, personal-care ads aimed at men promise success with the opposite sex. Compare a current Axe claim: “Discover what happens when Axe’s new fragrances unlock dangerous levels of attraction.” (Curiously, Unilever owns both brands.)

Instead, Dove is hoping sports celebrities expressing their emotions will connect with its target audience. “This campaign takes even the most successful sports figures and transforms them from herculean to human,” said Rob Candelino, Vice President, Brand Building, for Unilever Skincare.

The presumably intended takeaway goes something like this: All men, even pro athletes, face moments of anxiety. Dove provides the confidence they need to be “comfortable in (their) own skin.”

Now, if only Dove could help me slam-dunk.

And this spring, he wants to fight your crabgrass like a warrior-poet.

He’s Scott from Scotts Miracle-Gro and he’s played by a real Scotsman, Phil McKee, from Glascow.

Another Scott, Scott Crockett, principal at the Richards Group, explained to The New York Times that the Scott character is “a way to symbolize an expert who knows about lawns.” Scott helps add “a little more personality” to the Scotts brand, he says, and helps make “a more emotional connection” with potential customers.

Another purpose the character serves, Crockett says, is “to unite the products under one campaign.” In various TV spots, including the one below, Scott pushes Turf Builder, Turf Builder EZ Seed, Turf Builder with Plus 2 Weed Control, Turf Builder Grass Seed with Water Smart, and the Snap Spreader System — all intended to keep the thistles out of your heather.

Now, Jon Bon Jovi is pushing Advil.

Are we ready for rock stars as spokespersons for legal drugs?

In the TV spot (below), Bon Jovi claims he uses the painkiller for aches and pains related to touring and performing.

Pfizer’s VP-CMO of U.S. Consumer Healthcare, Brian Groves, puts a branding spin on it. He told Forbes, “Jon is an authentic American icon, as is Advil, and Jon’s brand, in his entertainment life and his business and philanthropy, appears very focused on solving problems and getting right to the point and that’s how we feel about Advil.”

The TV ad was shot at the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen, a non-profit initiative of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which Advil helps sponsor.

Just a couple of authentic American icons solving problems.