Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

What do the following have in common: onions, apricots, Brussels sprouts, watermelons and cauliflowers? Since 1 July 2009 they’re on the list of 26 items that can be marketed in Europe with knobs, bumps and curves.
The money-wasting regulations that classed cucumbers with a bend of 10mm per 10cm of length differently from cucumbers with [...]

Stand closer, and read.
There are strange laws and legal obligations in every country. In England banks promoting mortgages have to warn you that your house may be at risk if you fail to keep up payments. In many countries medical companies have to warn you about the possible side effects, in Germany with “Ask your [...]

Sale, percentage, reduction
Changes in the law often present marketing departments with unexpected headaches.
Now that the bizarre German law relating to “Kaufzwang” (purchase obligation) has disappeared, German retailers can have sales whenever they want (as long as the goods on offer are genuinely reduced).
This is nothing new in many other countries, but in a country [...]

My eye was caught recently by an article in an English newspaper on a loophole in the law. Marketing johnnies have been quick to exploit it.
Like many nations, the Brits are keen on home-grown foods (and although others mock us, there are actually some superb dishes in British cuisine).

British food? Read the small print…
One [...]

Source, screenshot from:
http://www.sparks.com/home.jsp#/home
I’ve heard it said that any publicity is good publicity - as long as you can repair the damage when it’s not positive. I wonder if SABMiller agree.
In the states, their brand “Sparks” has been creating a ripple or two. Critics and lobbyists keen to nip teenage drinking in the bud [...]

As a Brit abroad I’ve often seen sexist advertising that would upset the traditionalists in my home country, so it’s interesting to see people in other countries struggling with the issue. This article from the BBC shows an interesting angle from Scandinavia. The Norwegians have clearly come down in favour of a ban on any [...]

As the MBAs travel the world, I am seeing more and more examples of the random nature of legal restrictions in different countries. These recent examples where snipped by Ralph in China.

The brand with the 3 blobs.
First we have what looks like an imitation of adidas. Clearly the Chinese have no way either of [...]

How differently alcohol is sold in different countries…

Heineken cans in France
Starting with some examples from Anja (thanks for your input!), it looks like the French are taking the issue of drinking during pregnancy very seriously. So seriously in fact that warnings now feature on cans.
Whether this is a legal requirement I don’t know, but [...]

Poor Coke, minding its own business when suddenly it finds itself in the middle of a global controversy. The first it heard about it was when a Chinese blogger came out with the following
Germany has started to really show adverts for Tibetan independence. Coca-Cola! Okay, I will remember. From now on I will not touch [...]

I’ve been waiting with baited breath to see how the German cigarette companies would deal with the smoking ban in bars. Trust my favourite brand (NO, I don’t smoke) to strike the right chord. Here’s how they dealt with it in Baden-Württemberg, which implemented the ban last year.

Mocking the powers that be
Rather than go [...]