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Innocent Drinks is one of the most talked about and admired brands within marketing circles. Its story is very compelling. No wonder marketing folk, many of whom work for very boring companies, love it. We all know the brand off by heart:

• co-founded by youthful bright entrepreneurs and run with a personal touch
• ground-breaking, quirky design and non-conventional communication style
• a simple and very on-trend brand proposition
• a strong and authentic ethical stance
• premium quality (and premium priced) products

Of course, Innocent were not the first to take this individualistic, ethical way of  running their business. There was the Body Shop, the early incarnations of Virgin and of course Ben and Jerry's.

And today many other categories have their own versions of the Innocent marketing mix. In the personal care / cleaning categories there's Method. In clothing, there's Howies, in snacks there's Burt's crisps and of course, there's Coco de Mer in the market of er...erotica.

What intrigues me is:

• can the ethical vision of a brand survive the vision of its originators?
• can a brand maintain its integrity as it grows?

Evidence so far suggests that they can't. Body Shop was never the same in the post-Roddick era , especially now its owned by L'Oreal, its polar opposite. Equally Ben and Jerry's, now under the control of Unilever has lost its magic, so has Green and Blacks now that Cadbury owns it. Of course, the multinationals will claim that nothing has changed, they're managed as standalone companies and they've retained their integrity, etc. They would say that, wouldn't they?.

So let's see what happens to Innocent. In 5-10 years time once the owners have decided to pack it all and the company has ‘gone Global' with the help of Nestle / Pepsico / P & G, will it still be knitting woolie hats via an army of volunteers and giving 10% of its profit to charities? I'd love to think it would be....not sure it will though.

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With sales of over £500 million and over a million machines sold, Nespresso has been a phenomenal success. At the heart is a superb product, backed by a brave and ambitious marketing plan that has been brilliantly executed.

- an innovative channel strategy whereby the coffee capsules were only sold on-line and not via the normal supermarket channels

- partnerships with machine manufacturers to develop a range of co-branded machines retailing from £99 - £699

- the creation of flagship stores in prestigious locations

- Hollywood glamour via the endorsement of George Clooney

- Presence in top restaurants (Sketch, the Fat Duck)

All this from an organisation best known for selling jars of instant coffee, petfood and chocolate bars through supermarkets. Bravo.

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The latest Virgin Atlantic ad - click here -  is fabulous. Witty, beautifully executed, strong brand message, utterly self confident. I'm not a big fan of the Virgin brand. It's spread itself too thinly and is very hit and miss.

However, it really comes together with Virgin Atlantic - particularly if you're fortunate enough to have travelled Virgin Upper Class. With the limo service, fast check in, funky terminal 3 lounge and the on-board massages its hard to beat. One day perhaps, its rail service will rival its airline. Now that really would be an achievement.

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