Brands, celebrities, gizmos, songs, movies: there is no limit in today’s consumer’s mind. Everything can be an Icon. Everybody has at least one if not many.

For sure, I am not teaching you anything. What I want to share with you is that Internet offers at least two ways to check the popularity of an idea, a product or a person without Google and its Zeitgeist!

First, the “corporate” version: Saatchi & Saatchi’s Lovemarks built to backup or add to CEO Kevin [Saatchi Kevin] Roberts’ eponym book Lovemarks. The purpose is debatable (“future beyond brands” anyone?) and it is arguably biased because of the audience (I love it… / I hate it…) and the team behind (visitors suggest but the team creates the page and chooses an illustration). However, I believe this is a great tool to identify “icons” and how people relate to them.

Second, the “geek” version: isTheShit.net. My last post was about the high-school boy attitude of some recent British ads and this website has this kind of flavour. Gary Coleman and David Hasselhoff welcome you on the homepage… The principle is that anyone can propose something that is “the shit” and send a picture to illustrate that. Actually, you can even challenge a picture with your own suggestion.

In both instances, you can vote and get some sense of what makes a specific icon stand out.

Amusingly, istheshit is the shit at the time I am writing this, but lovemarks is not a lovemark. And thus, I had to submit it myself. Is Lovemarks going to be iconic? Wait & see.


Appendix* - My entry for Lovemarks:

I love to surf the site, discover and re-discover brands.

It is funny and sometimes touching to see what these iconic brands, products or persons inspire to the people who leave a message - strong memories, feelings and emotions.

Lovemarks.com is a great idea. I think the "future beyond brands" concept is debatable. But it definitely goes beyond brands, if not in time at least in terms of perception - consumers or believers?

*: This reminds me that I have a short story about appendixes… another time.