It’s one of the latest ‘hot topics’ and it’s got marketers using language in a creative way. Earlier today I was reading in Marketing Week about Bacardi’s plans to spend UK£12m on launching its ‘brand purpose’ - and I quote - ‘Do What Moves You’, which aims to “shine a spotlight on the brand’s belief in the power of self-expression”.

Now that looks and sounds more like a slogan with some slick justification behind it to me. For a start, how can a brand have a belief? The people who sell a product, or the guys at the advertising agency might have a belief, but a brand can’t have a belief, can it? A brand isn’t a living, breathing, thinking, conscious being.

I think what they really mean is that they are trying to portray an image that will attract their target audience - which, as the article goes on to say is the 18 to 25 year-old age group. They want them to buy the product, drink it, feel less inhibited due to its alcoholic content and start to dance around a bit. Not much new in that. Marketing Week writes of Sarah Doyle, VP of marketing for Bacardi Europe saying ‘she believes consumers want to “understand what Bacardi stands for”. Huge investments aimed at increasing market share would be my guess - let’s face it, it’s a business. I’m not saying it’s wrong, but is it honest?