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Pitching a Devon Sawa Endorsement to Casper Mattress

Release Date: 06/15/2021

Building a Glow-in-the-Dark Toilet Paper Brand from Scratch [LIVE!]

Can They Brand That?

After the party, it’s the after potty, at least that’s the promise of our featured brand on the show this week: glow-in-the-dark toilet paper. Before you get too excited about throwing a rave in your own bathroom, this product is fully fictional…but the brand identity we improvised for it LIVE in 20 minutes is very real (unfortunately or unfortunately; you’ll have to watch to decide). From brand name ideas like Whizz, Go in the Dark, and After Potty to product expansions like a 12 pack of asstrology themed roll (Pee-sces, A-square-ius, and VirGlow) to slogans like, “Light up...

Building a Doggy High Heel Brand from Scratch [LIVE!]

Can They Brand That?

Bark twice if you had to read that subject line twice to make sure you weren’t hallucinating. We regret to inform you that the featured brand on this week's new episode of Can They Brand That? truly is “doggy high heels”. No, that’s not a real product, but yes, it is a real branding challenge, and who better to take it on than two experts who have never met any product they can’t creatively outwit? To further humiliate, err, challenge ourselves, we went live on YouTube to perform our 20-minute improvised brainstorm for the entire world wide web (and its pets) to see. From brand...

Pitching Old-Timey Nightshirts as a Hot, New Trend in Menswear [LIVE!]

Can They Brand That?

This week, we had a nightmare that the newest trend in men’s sleepwear was old-timey nightshirts, and we were hired to ideate ways to get the word out. And we only had 20 minutes. And we had to do it live on YouTube in front of everybody. Oh wait, that wasn’t a nightmare, that was yesterday’s new episode of Can They Brand That?! Turns out, the brainstorm was more of a dream than a nightmare (a fever dream, perhaps, but a dream nonetheless) as we improvised creative ideas like The Slumber Bowl (with NFL-branded nightshirts), a Buffalo Wild Wings collab called Buffalo Wild Thighs, a...

Pitching Eggnog As the New Star of the Holidays [LIVE!]

Can They Brand That?

We put our noggins to work this week, rebranding the most North Pole-arizing beverage of the holiday season, eggnog. And we did it live in just 20 minutes, proving that it truly is a miraculous time of year. From a Nogclub with bottle service (full of eggnog), to an influencer-led Nog Vlog initiative, to a winter ice cream truck that serves only eggnog (complete with a special eggnog anthem), we brainstormed all of the ways to give consumers a reason (for the season) to incorporate this often-overlooked drink into their family traditions. We went nog wild on new folklore as well as mascot...

Pitching a Cat Lady Gala to Fancy Feast [LIVE!]

Can They Brand That?

The cat did not get our tongues on this very special episode of “Can They Brand That?,” where we live-streamed our improvised brainstorm for Fancy Feast. With 20 minutes on the clock, we let all of our ideas out of the bag in real time, with the help of viewer comments and add-ons. From a Downton Tabby butler serving Fancy Feast in crystal goblets (in collaboration with Waterford, of course) to a stretch limo ‘feast truck’ to a flight of fancy tasting menu and cocktail pairing (Giblet Gimlet or Whiskers Neat, anyone?), we had the time of our 9 lives and can’t wait to do it all...

Pitching a Bog Lifeguard Mascot to Ocean Spray

Can They Brand That?

What’s bold, tart, and criminally underappreciated? This show, for one. But also cranberries! So, just in time for Thanksgiving, we’re bringing the two together. That’s right, this week on Can They Brand That? (or should we say Cran They Brand That? heheh), we set our brains on Ocean Spray, the queen of cranberries, the craisin trademark owners, and the underdog (or should we say underbog?) of the fruit world. From tart-tan merch and office fruit jargon, all the way to a UTI charity event and a jellied cranberry sauce log balloon floating in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, we put...

Pitching a 36-in-1 Shampoo Spoof to Head & Shoulders

Can They Brand That?

The only head scratcher on this week’s new episode of Can They Brand That? is how we possibly come up with this many clever ideas on the spot in just 30 minutes. That’s right, 2-in-1 shampoo stans, we’re putting our heads (and shoulders) together for America’s #1 dandruff shampoo: Head & Shoulders. From a cinematic masterpiece about parmesan and Rube Goldberg Machines all the way to The Jetsons and gothic teens protesting dandruff, our ideas were so fun you’ll be shocked they came right off the tops of our heads. Don’t be a flake, watch the whole episode here! Timestamps: ...

Pitching a Fred Flintstone 5K to Vibram Shoes

Can They Brand That?

If there’s one thing we know, it’s running….our mouths. So this week’s episode of Can They Brand That? featuring Vibram (the five-finger shoes you’ve definitely seen out and about) was just our speed. We dove in feet first and discussed everything from Baja Men letting your barking dogs out to Prince Eric’s perfect feet to a Vibram award shoe called the Toe-nys. Backstory in case you missed it: these time-pressured, improvised brainstorms have long been our favorite creative exercises, and so we turned them into a show! For you! And as a way to champion creativity and...

Pitching Pickup Truck Lines to Slate

Can They Brand That?

FYI: This episode was recorded before we rebranded from Obedient to Semiserious. — The wheels have certainly fallen off on this week’s new episode of Can They Brand That?—and as always, that’s a good thing. This week, we featured Slate: a new brand that makes fully-customizable, electric pickup trucks. Hop in the passenger seat with us as we speed-improvise our way through entertaining ideas that would help Slate pickup new consumers. From a build-a-bro expo, to a Pimp My Ride nostalgia campaign, to, for some reason, a mime mascot…we put our brain pedals to the medal and ran every...

Pitching an American Yodel Singing Show to Ricola

Can They Brand That?

*Cough, cough* may we have your attention please; we have a new episode of Can They Brand That! This week, we featured the GOAT of cough drops (that’s a Switzerland joke), Ricola. With the energy of an Alp horn, we got to ‘storming about everything from slasher film pop-ups to the Bachelor to a yodeling boy band and a dozen silly ideas in between. Backstory in case you missed it: these time-pressured, improvised brainstorms have long been our favorite creative exercises, and so we turned them into a show! For you! You’re welcome! So grab your lederhosen, pop a drop, and watch the...

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FYI: This episode was recorded before we rebranded from Obedient to Semiserious.
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Wake up sleepyheads: this week’s new episode is the opposite of a snoozefest. It features a brainstorm from the vault (January 2021) where we performed a 10-minute slumber party (okay, real-time ideation) for Casper but with a freshly-recorded recap intro. If you’ve been following along with us for a bit, you likely saw the video and graphics roll through back then, but we wanted to revisit the brainstorm and share some insights on why we did what we did, what we liked/disliked, and how it landed us a fun naming project with a new ice cream brand.

The audio isn’t *perfect* because at the time we were just recording via Zoom, and the episode is a shorty because ten minutes go by really quickly. But nevertheless, we podcasted.

You can also head to our Instagram @semiseriousagency or YouTube @semiseriousagency to watch the episode and see the spec graphics we designed of some of our favorite concepts. (There were 26 slogans in total!)

Other tidbits that made their way into our episode against all odds:

The 1995 film Casper, starring Devon Sawa and Christina Ricci
Cumulus and Cumulonimbus clouds
Harry Potter’s Nimbus 2000
5 Little Monkeys
ZZ Top

If you like what you heard, swing by semiseriousagency.com to snoop around or hire us.
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As the world’s first humor branding agency, Semiserious has developed creative branding for industry darlings like Clif Bar, Native, Argent, Waterboy JOI, Pie, The University of Chicago, Alleyoop, Blue Bunny, U Suck at Golf, and The Dallas Cowboys. But they would never brag about it in their episode description.

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