During the month of March, there were news stories that reflected brand identity, brand reputation, brand storytelling, co-branding, gender bias, product packaging, product pricing, personal branding, and more.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC ANNIVERSARY
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic, which led to stay at-home orders and shutdowns across the United States and the world.
According to ABC News, “As of March 6, 2025, at least 1,222,603 Americans have died of COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. has the highest number of deaths of any country in the world, according to the WHO, but experts believe the true death toll is higher.”
According to Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, “We know this emerged in China, around the city Wuhan. We know when [the] medical community identified it, but we don't know quite how long it was circulating before then.”
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AND LUGGAGE
Announced in mid-March, for the first time in the nearly 60-years of Southwest Airlines existence, no more “Bags Fly Free.” The airline needs a new tagline and good public relations to deal with upset customers. Starting with flights booked on or after May 28, Southwest will begin charging for checked bags with some exceptions. The new policy aligns Southwest with other major airlines that already charge for checked baggage.
EQUAL PAY DAY
According to CNBC, “March 25 was Equal Pay Day, marking how many days the median woman would need to work into 2025 to earn what the median man earned in 2024. This day was designed to draw the public’s attention to the discrepancy in pay between men and women in the United States. It has been recognized annually since 1996. According to the most recent median income data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the national gender pay gap stood at approximately 84 percent in 2024. Said differently, for each dollar men earned, women earned $0.16 less.”
According to the World Economic Forum, “It could take roughly five generations to close the pay gap worldwide. Based on current data, it will take 134 years to reach full parity. In the Northern America region, despite equality in educational attainment, there are still wide disparities in earned income and women’s representation in senior leadership positions.”
SHARE THIS: Equal pay isn’t just about fairness – it’s about building a stronger economy, supporting working families, and ensuring that TALENT, not gender, determines success. ~Frederique Irwin, President/CEO of National Women’s History Museum #SheIsNotAFootnote #DebbieLaskeysBlog
SHARE THIS: Girls and women are told they can be anything. But when they look at the workforce, education, government, and healthcare system, they see a world where women are still the exception – not the norm. Underrepresentation isn’t a coincidence. It’s a system failure. ~The Young Women and Girls’ Aspiration Report via @WomensHistory #NWHM #DebbieLaskeysBlog
POWER OF PERSONAL BRANDS – PART ONE
Is Tesla CEO Elon Musk damaging his brand? Musk has closely attached himself to President Trump, which has resulted in protests and acts of vandalism. Signs featuring the message, “Unplug Musk” can be seen in cities across the United States.
According to crisis management expert Eric Dezenhall, founder of Dezenhall Resources, "It's almost impossible to be a politically divisive figure while running a consumer brand. X/Twitter is one thing: You could make the argument that its purpose is political, and if you can build a consumer base on that, fine. But Tesla is something different. It's a consumer product that was marketed as an alternative to fossil fuel-burning cars. This was appealing to progressives and even some conservatives. It's lost its status as a progressive "badge" product.
A lot depends on two things: Does Musk stay in his DOGE position? If so, it will be hard to build Tesla back unless the product itself is so much more extraordinary than competitors — which it once was. If he leaves DOGE and gets back to what made him, the public can forget the recent unpleasantness over time. If he stays with DOGE and keeps the slash-and-burn at this pace, it will be hard to balance both.
My advice is simple: The aim of crisis management is to stop an attack, not improve an image. First, get back to business. Leave politics to somebody else. This isn't your thing. But that advice doesn't matter because he's at the center of global discourse.”
POWER OF PERSONAL BRANDS – PART TWO
While the gist of this article by Politico may seem crazy, how many people actually thought Trump would run and win the presidency on January 20, 2021 (the day Biden was inaugurated)?
Representative Brandon Gill of Texas and other legislators have introduced Congressional bills to show their support for Trump. These include: designate Trump’s birthday as a federal holiday (June 14), rename Washington, D.C.’s Dulles airport in Trump’s honor, carve Trump’s face on Mount Rushmore, and create a new $250 bill with Trump’s likeness.
According to Politico, “The multi-front effort to memorialize a president who is still alive, let alone still living in the White House, has no precedent in congressional history. While none of the bills are expected to become law, it underscores the lengths that some House Republicans are willing to go to curry favor with Trump. Some scholars of American history, however, view these bills through a darker lens. Some of the bills honoring Trump present practical difficulties. The National Park Service has said there is no suitable rock left to carve on Mount Rushmore, and putting Trump’s image on money would require repealing an 1866 law prohibiting the printing of a living person’s image on American currency.”
Princeton University Professor Sean Wilentz called it an effort “to transform a sitting president into a kind of deified figure,” something, he said, George Washington himself feared, “This is exactly what the American Revolution was fought to prevent.”
TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON NEW CARS
According to NPR, “President Trump [announced his decision on March 26] to impose 25 percent tariffs on imported cars and car parts starting [the following week], using his national security powers to take the action. The latest policy is yet another example of the president's tariff-centric second-term economic agenda. Thus far, Trump has imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, steel and aluminum, and some goods from Canada and Mexico. According to Commerce Department data, Mexico is by far the largest exporter of auto parts to the U.S., followed by Canada, China, Japan, and South Korea. The list of the biggest vehicle exporters is similar: Mexico far outstrips other countries, followed by Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Germany.”
How will this decision impact new automobile purchases? And how will it affect auto advertising?
PRICING AND WOMEN’S CLOTHING
Did you know that tariffs on imported clothing can have a gender bias? According to 19th News, “A bill from two Democratic representatives would investigate the ‘pink tariff,’ which encompasses the higher tax rates on imported items classified as women’s goods…Incoming clothing is classified by gender through government textile codes, and the tariffs on them aren’t always equal. Importers would pay an 8.5 percent tax rate for a men’s anorak, for example, while a woman’s coat in the same category is taxed at 14 percent. Even clothing that would eventually be labeled as “unisex” in stores is automatically tariffed as though it were women’s garments, per the government code, bearing those same, often-higher rates.”
According to Representative Lizzie Fletcher of Texas, “As President Trump has imposed tariffs and started a trade war with our trading partners, it is even more important that we understand how higher tariffs will raise costs for everyone, and women in particular.”
MESSAGE BEHIND ZELENSKYY’S CLOTHING
At a recent meeting at the White House between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, there was a kerfuffle about Zelenskyy’s clothing.
According to Politico, "The last time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wore a suit was early on February 24, 2022, when he posted a video announcing martial law as Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Since then, Zelenskyy has largely sported combat-style black, gray or khaki cargo pants, boots, sweatshirts and polos decorated with Ukrainian national symbols. That leaves him strikingly underdressed compared to his peers. Yet that’s the point.”
Elvira Gasanova, designer of the Damirli brand that is one of Zelenskyy’s signature looks, explained, "When world leaders see Zelenskyy in military style, it is a signal: Ukraine is at war and I am part of this fight. A persistent call to return to the suit is a de facto demand to return to the usual format of political dialogue, which means enough of war, sit down at the negotiating table. During war, the president is not just a politician, but the supreme commander of the army and civilians under martial law. The classic suit would be perceived as a detachment from the reality of the front, and his clothes help him to keep the world’s attention on the war in Ukraine.”
Zoya Zvynyatskivska, a Ukrainian fashion critic and historian, explained that criticizing clothing is often more about fashion, “Manipulating dress requirements is an act of domination. Trump is a political bully, who does not disdain any opportunity to humiliate his opponent, to show him his place in the hierarchy. To paraphrase Churchill, if our man put on a tie to avoid public humiliation, he would receive the same humiliation — but in a tie.”
TRAVEL ADVISORIES TO THE UNITED STATES
According to NPR, “Some European countries, as well as Canada, are warning their citizens who travel to the United States to strictly follow the country's entry rules or risk detention as the Trump administration cracks down on immigration enforcement. Ireland, The Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, and Canada have updated their travel guidelines after some travelers from those nations encountered detention by immigration officials. The heightened advisories come after citizens from European countries have been detained and deported by immigration officials while traveling to the United States. Some of the warnings also note that the State Department has suspended its policy allowing transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people to update the sex field on their passports – eliminating the X marker as an option… It's currently unclear how or if the travel warnings will have an impact on the economy. However, economists had previously warned that tariffs imposed by Trump, including on the European Union, could strain international relations and increase costs.”
What happened to welcoming visitors to the United States?
DEI VS. THE US MILITARY & THE US GOVERNMENT
According to NPR, "From 2005 to 2023, the number of women serving active-duty roles in the U.S. military rose by 12 percent, while the number of men fell by more than 10 percent, according to Pentagon data. A third of active-duty enlisted service members came from racial minority groups in 2023 – a higher percentage than in 2010. Those figures from the Department of Defense's most recent demographics report help explain why military experts who spoke with NPR are concerned that the Trump administration's orders to root out digital content "promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" could undermine military recruiters' ability to connect with potential service members from important demographics.”
"There's a strategic reason why you have a website about [Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Gen. Charles Calvin Rogers] or a website about the Navajo Code Talkers," explained Wayne Lee, a former Army officer who is a history professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "It's because we continue to want to recruit from populations who identify with those people and who see them as their ancestors and who want to emulate their service."
Continuing from NPR, "The Pentagon says its goal is to cull material related to diversity and cultural awareness, under orders from President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. But the removal of webpages about American role models – from Jackie Robinson's military service to female pilots who have flown the B-2 stealth bomber – triggered outrage and suspicion. Some of those pages have been restored, with a Pentagon official telling NPR that the military's review of images, stories, and social media posts has been too hasty. Earlier, the U.S. Air Force said its basic training curriculum would once again include lessons about the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP."
According to NPR, "Arlington National Cemetery has begun wiping from its website histories highlighting Black, Hispanic, and women veterans. The change is in line with President Trump's directive to remove references to and support for diversity, equity and inclusion from the federal government. A U.S. official not authorized to talk to media told NPR the removal of links and sections about these groups have been dubbed a "digital content refresh" by top Pentagon officials. The story was first reported by Civil War historian Kevin M. Levin on his Substack newsletter and by Task & Purpose, a publication focused on military news. Articles, photos, and videos that are seen as promoting DEI will be removed under the new approach. Additionally, the Pentagon has marked thousands of photos representing diverse veterans to be removed from its website, according to the Associated Press. For example, Gen. Colin Powell was the first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was the first corps comprised only of Black women to work overseas during World War II. Their stories are no longer prominent on the website but can still be found using the search function."
According to ESPN, "On March 19, the Department of Defense restored a story on its website highlighting Jackie Robinson's military service after deleting it as part of President Trump's efforts to purge references to diversity, equity and inclusion through a "digital content refresh." While it does not make any references to DEI, the story on Robinson was among a swath scrubbed from government websites in recent days. Before the story on Robinson's service was restored, the URL had redirected to one that added the letters “DEI” in front of “sports-heroes.”
KIRSTY COVENTRY’S NEW ROLE
On March 20, in Costa Navarino, Greece, Kirsty Coventry, the 41-year-old Zimbabwe sports minister and two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist, was elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). She will become the first woman and first African to lead what many refer to as the largest international sporting event. According to the AP, “Coventry will formally replace her mentor Thomas Bach at a June 23 handover, officially Olympic Day, as the 10th IOC president in its 131-year history.”
Coventry, whose term will be from 2025-2033, said, “This is a signal that we are truly global. I have been dealing with, let’s say, difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old. What I have learned is that communication will be key.”
MARIAH CAREY’S GOOD NEWS
Mariah Carey had been battling over her hit Christmas song, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” after songwriters accused her of stealing the lyrics from their song in a complaint first filed in 2023. However, U.S. District Judge Monica Almadani ruled on March 19 that music experts could not prove enough objective similarity between the two songs through what's called an extrinsic test. So, Judge Almadani granted Carey’s request for summary judgment without the need to go to trial agreeing with the defense's claims that the 1994 song uses common tropes associated with Christmas songs that existed prior to 1989.
And how many of us associate the Christmas season with Mariah Carey and her song?
DEATH OF GEORGE FOREMAN
George Foreman passed away on March 21 at the age of 76. He won an Olympic gold medal in 1968, was a two-time heavyweight champion, and Hall of Fame boxer. Famous fights were against Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, and he also served as a boxing analyst. Then, in 1994, he launched his “George Foreman Grill,” which went on to sell more than 100 million units worldwide, thanks in part to his memorable catchphrase, the “Lean Mean Grilling Machine.” In 1999, he sold the commercial rights to the George Foreman Grill for $138 million, more than he earned in boxing.
AMAZON AND LEBRON JAMES
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Amazon has struck a multiyear deal for the LeBron James digital series, Mind the Game, which will be distributed across several Amazon properties. As part of the deal, Amazon’s Wondery will distribute Mind the Game across Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, Fire TV Channels and Echo devices, as well as on YouTube and wherever podcasts are available. In its second season, the series will see James host alongside new co-host NBA hall-of-famer Steve Nash. Wondery will also manage ad-sales representation for all audio and video episodes of the podcast, as well as back catalog content. Uninterrupted, which launched the show last year, will produce the series…This is Wondery’s latest big push into podcasting and sports media…Wondery CEO Jen Sargent called sports a “strategic priority of Wondery’s and Amazon’s,” and emphasized the company’s 360-degree approach to acquiring series, including moving involving Amazon and moving into video, merchandise, live events, and more.”
NEW ROLE FOR DONATELLA VERSACE
Shared in a company press release, “Capri Holdings Limited, a global fashion luxury group, and Versace announce that Chief Creative Officer Donatella Versace will assume the role of Chief Brand Ambassador effective April 1. In her new role as Chief Brand Ambassador, Ms. Versace will dedicate herself to the support of Versace’s philanthropic and charitable endeavors and will remain an advocate for the brand globally.”
Donatella Versace explained, “Championing the next generation of designers has always been important to me. I am thrilled that Dario Vitale will be joining us, and excited to see Versace through new eyes. I want to thank my incredible design team and all the employees at Versace that I have had the privilege of working with for over three decades. It has been the greatest honor of my life to carry on my brother Gianni’s legacy. He was the true genius, but I hope I have some of his spirit and tenacity. In my new role as Chief Brand Ambassador, I will remain Versace’s most passionate supporter. Versace is in my DNA and always in my heart.”
PUMA AND HELLO KITTY
Puma unveiled a Hello Kitty Collection of limited-edition sneakers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the lovable Japanese cartoon character. This is the second time that Puma has collaborated with Hello Kitty on a sneaker line.
STARBUCKS AND VERMONT
There are over 17,000 Starbucks retail venues across the United States, but did you know that one state capital does not have a Starbucks? While there are 10 Starbucks in the state of Vermont, its capital, Montpelier, with a population of 8,000 in an area of 10-square miles, has none. The reason is that the city imposes a corporate business tax of 8.5 percent on any profits above $25,000. On a related note, there are no other chains within the city limits of Montpelier either: McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, KFC, Burger King, Arby’s, and Sonic. Montpelier residents take pride in their unique and independently owned coffee shops and restaurants.
PERSONAL BRANDS AND CO-BRANDING
If you could pair your personal brand with anyone else’s, who would you choose? According to CNBC, “Four-time National Basketball Association champion Stephen Curry is teaming up with former First Lady Michelle Obama to release a healthier sports drink option. On March 26, Curry and Obama announced the launch of Plezi Hydration, through Obama’s public benefit company, Plezi Nutrition. The drink adds to Curry’s growing portfolio of off-court ventures [and while the] sports drink market is a crowded space, Curry said the beverage’s focus on health and wellness makes it different. The drink touts no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, less sodium than leading rivals and a full daily dose of vitamin C.” This partnership aligns with Obama’s focus on healthy eating during her time as First Lady.
STORY FROM A META INSIDER
According to Vulture, “Sarah Wynn-Williams can’t do interviews. She can’t post on social media or go on tour or give a talk. Her family can’t speak on her behalf, and her friends are afraid to. None of this has affected the sales of her first book, a memoir of the six years she spent working for Facebook. Instead, it may have helped them: The moment that an arbitrator (requested by Meta) slapped Wynn-Williams with a gag order, banning her from promoting her memoir, Careless People, he handed her the kind of publicity no book party could match. Suddenly, Careless People wasn’t just another tech whistleblower book; it was the book that Mark Zuckerberg didn’t want you to read, and for many, that’s enough to recommend it. In the week following its release on March 11, Careless People hit the top of The New York Times best-seller list and sold 60,000 copies.”
NEW $20 BILL?
According to NPR, "A measure to replace President Andrew Jackson with abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill again became an issue in Congress. This the latest push to honor Tubman on the currency and remove Jackson, the country's seventh president and a slaveholder. It follows a decade-long effort of previous attempts, including through legislation that has stalled in Congress. The March announcement also coincides with Harriet Tubman Day, a holiday honoring the activist who led enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad. The new bill, called the "Harriet Tubman Tribute Act of 2025," calls for the Treasury secretary to include the abolitionist's face on all $20 bills printed after December 31, 2030. The proposed legislation also stipulates that the production of these bills cannot be delayed more than two years unless it is determined that issuing the bills after the designated date ‘would create an unacceptable risk of counterfeiting or to the safe, secure, and speedy functioning of the United States economy.’”
Ernestine "Tina" Martin Wyatt, Tubman's great-great-great-grandniece appreciates the renewed effort but is not confident it will occur under the Trump administration, given its rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. And not only has the endeavor been held up in Congress, it has also faced delays with the White House and Treasury Department. According to Wyatt, “That's what was on her mind all the time. Freedom, inclusiveness, justice, and equality. That's what democracy is. How are we going to make a better country without including people, without justice, without equality, without freedom, most of all and freedom?"
END OF 23ANDME
According to The New York Times, "23andMe, maker of popular DNA test kits, announced on March 23 that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer. Although the company has promised to continue protecting customer data amidst a possible sale, California’s attorney general has advised 23andMe users to consider deleting their information. The company’s decision to declare bankruptcy was not a surprising one. After a 2023 data breach in which attackers gained access to information from close to 7 million customer profiles, 23andMe’s stock price plummeted, and the company settled a class-action lawsuit for $30 million."
According to PC Magazine, "Did you delete your DNA data on 23andMe? The company's website has seen a surge in users after it launched a bankruptcy proceeding intended to attract a buyer. Visits to 23andMe.com increased by 526 percent from Sunday to Monday (March 23-24), according to Similarweb, which tracks Internet traffic trends after 23andMe announced its bankruptcy. 23andMe.com received an estimated 1.5 million visits on Monday (March 24), an increase from 239,000 visits the day before, or what’s closer to a typical daily traffic flow."
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
According to NPR, “At the heart of a hearing on Capitol Hill on March 26, entitled "Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable," was the question of whether public broadcasting should receive federal funding. The subcommittee chairperson, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican from Georgia., has said she wants to cut all federal funds to public broadcasting.” In fact, she has gone so far as to call both NPR and PBS “communist.”
Let’s see how accurate this statement is: Elmo is a communist, Bert and Ernie are communists, and the Cookie Monster is a communist. Seriously?!
What other recent marketing buzz caught your attention? Since there’s always something happening that impacts marketing, read #DebbieLaskeysBlog for the scoop!
Image Credits: Puma/Hello Kitty, 23andMe, and Brian Kelly/Instagram.
Read Kirsty Coventry's Manifesto and Five Priorities as IOC President:
Read or download a copy of The Young Women and Girls’ Aspiration Report from the National Women’s History Museum:
https://www.sheisnotafootnote.org/
Read The Global Gender Gap Report 2024 published by the World Economic Forum:
https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2024/digest/
Read the article about Jackie Robinson that disappeared and then re-appeared on the Department of Defense's website in mid-March:
Read this post from Politico:
Six times European leaders tried to make the power hoodie work (September 2024)
Catch up with the marketing highlights from the first week of March:
Marketing News of the Week: Betty, Jane, Oscar, and More (March 6, 2025):
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2025/03/marketing-news-of-week-betty-jane-oscar.html
