Kevin Harrington // marketing // blog

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Man and boy Scottish & Newcastle marketer Jeremy Blood said, in answer to “What brand do you most admire and why?:

Champagne. A brilliant combination. A simple gimmick (bubbles and a popping cork) global appeal, and ownership of ‘celebratory drinks’. And on top of that huge margins and enormous barriers to entry.

Excellent choice and an excellent answer. See his other replies to questions at the Marketing Society website.

 Jeremy Blood is the managing director of Heineken UK.

So, the plan is to have a 70s dinner party tonight. Our guests are invited and the costumes are ready.

The 70s was a really good decade for music; a really rich ten years for quality and diversity. The iPod is set up with a random playlist of great music from a variety of genres.

We’ve even created a period menu! Note: this has been selected for fun and amusement (and ease of preparation), not to compete with Delia Smith. Of course, if you experienced the seventies you may recall what a diverse decade it was.

Hors d’oeuvres
Ritz crackers with pate
Twiglets

Starter 
Batchelors cream of tomato soup
Prawn cocktail

Main course 
Steak
Chicken in a basket

Sweet 
Black forest gateaux
After Eight mints

Drinks 
Babycham with a glacé cherry
Party 7
Snowballs with a glacé cherry

This got me to thinking about food and beverage brands that have survived well since the 70s. Babycham is back in shops. After Eights never disappeared. Wine boxes are back on the shelves in Tesco. HP sauce lives on and Daddies is disappearing.

What 70s food and drinks brands would you have at your ‘period’ dinner party?