Voxpop

Tourism South East has been rebranded as The Beautiful South. If you could use any band name to replace any brand name, which would you choose, and why?

How about Pickfords, the removal firm, rebranded as 1960s power-pop band The Move? I imagine the drivers as Brummies – with hippy hairdos, John Lennon-style spectacles, huge beards and paisley overalls emblazoned with the CND logo. A phone call to head office would be answered by band groupies versed in the ‘groovy’ speak of the time, you dig? And the strapline would be, ‘No trip too far out, man.’

Jamie Ellul, Director, Magpie Studio

This branding lark is quite tricky, isn’t it? Having spent my formative years inventing names and logos for pretend bands, I thought this would be a doddle, but all our ideas seemed to be either potentially too offensive, surreal, obscure or libellous to publish (although I laughed like a drain at most of them). If we’re talking destination marketing, then it’s Sellafield as Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. Another runner-up is Johnson & Johnson as The Chemical Brothers, but the clear winner is Apple as the Crash Test Dummies.

Ian Allison, Creative director, Bell Design

Our brainstorm began at our desks. We decided Apple could become Hot Chip, as we often find ourselves drooling over its charms. With the mention of chip, our thoughts turned to food, so we thought Tabasco could do well as The Flaming Lips. Remembering the pain of too much Tabasco, we decided the NHS would be The Cure. However, we reconsidered this because of New Labour’s regression into Fun Lovin’ Criminals after their expense indiscretions.

Jo Kotas, Managing director, Bunch