Used car vending machine

Quick: What’s the worst experience in the world? Colonoscopy? Nope. Root canal? Not even close. Waving back to someone who’s waving to you only to discover they’re actually waving to someone behind you? Please. Grow a spine.

No, the worst experience in the world is undoubtedly buying a car… even worse, a used car. The slimy salesguy, the pressure, the negotiation, it all adds up to one seriously unpleasant Saturday afternoon.

Carvana, with its unique online used-car buying website, has already found a way around much of the pain. Now it’s gone one step further, by creating a giant 5-story used car vending machine, making what was once a dreaded experience into one as easy and rewarding as getting a bag of chips. Once you’ve selected your vehicle online, Carvana will send you a special oversized coin for the machine. You go there, put your coin in, and voila! You drive off in your new used car. No hassle, no negotiation, no problem.

A giant cereal bowl in Grand Central

Imagine Grand Central Terminal on any given day. Beleaguered Manhattan commuters trudging through, souls already sucked dry with the thought of another frantic day at the rat race. Every last one of them, at one point or another, wishing they were a just a kid again, plopped in front of the tube on a Saturday morning in their PJs with a bowl of pure sugar, no adulting required.

Now imagine our weary sojourner glancing up mid-trek to behold a gigantic cereal bowl ball pit, complete with diving platform, surrounded by fun graphics and cartoony cloud projections. Imagine jaded NY commuters setting down their briefcases and leaping joyfully into the bowl. Best of all, imagine sampling three new cereal-inspired ice cream flavors!

Ben & Jerry, the patron saints of delicious fun, launched their three new flavors with this big, silly, fun stunt at exactly the right place and time – the intersection of commuting hell and a dreary March morning. And by encouraging their fans to do what we all do when we dive into Ben & Jerry’s – that is, let go – they show that they know their consumer and they understand what their customers need in the doldrums of their daily like, and they know how to stay true to their brand.

Ranch dressing swag

Rancheritos, rejoice! Rancheros, flex those dipping muscles, or flabby lack thereof! The holy grail of making carrots and celery not good for you anymore has amazing news!

In honor of National Ranch Dressing Day, which we guess is a thing, Hidden Valley Ranch has opened up its first online outlet, as chock full of branded swag and ranchy goodies as ranch dressing is full of fat and calories. Imagine a jewel-encrusted HVR bottle. Or better yet, the fabled Hidden Valley Ranch fountain! Along with greeting cards, T-shirts, hats, bottle cozies, totes and more, nothing could be better for a Hidden Valley Ranch fan except maybe a big bath in the mucousy deliciousness of the dressing itself!

Oh, you sly, creamy brand. We at Brandflakes are doing a slow-clap for the savviness of it all. Knowing your fans… understanding what they want… then giving them a rewarding digital experience worthy of their love… that’s something we can dip into.