In a galaxy far, far away

What do aliens eat? And even if they do a) exist and b) have a compatible digestive system would they choose to cram themselves with crisps? Such musings don't much matter because a brand manager has come up with a clever marketing ploy to get me to write about Doritos. The manufacturer, PepsiCo, is asking imaginative UK punters to come up with an advert that it promises to beam into space from a radio telescope in Norway for 24 hours. The ad should find its way to the "habitable zone" around one of the stars in the constellation Ursa Major only 42 light years away, New Scientist (March 15) reports. Should aliens get the munchies, they'll be so grateful.

Meanwhile back on earth, some Danes are apparently less than grateful to Ikea which stands accused of cultural imperialism, or so BusinessWeek (March 24) reports.

The phoney war of words began when newspapers picked up on a report that research by Professor Klaus Kjoller of the University of Copenhagen had concluded that the Swedish retailer "symbolically portrays Denmark as the doormat of Sweden" because its doormats and rugs carry Danish names.

An Ikea spokesperson Charlotte Lindgren denied the claims. "The Danes think Ikea does this just so we can stamp on them, but it is purely by coincidence," she says. "We are helping to put many Danish cities on the map."

Of course, the comments turned out to be a storm in a very reasonably priced mug. The Professor was playing along for a mischevious story in Nyhedavisen a free Danish daily newspaper. Still as the blog Branding Strategy Insider points out "the IKEA naming scandal will now be added to the long list of false brand-naming stories". Ho hum.

Thanks to www.crowdedskies.com for the image of a friendly waving alien - at least I think he or she simply wants more crisps.