Should dying brands simply be left to expire in peace? Is it prolonging the agony to keep them on ‘life support’ in some vapid online guise?  Obviously Dixons has pulled off a comeback with their controversial John Lewis baiting camaign and Woollies have got a new one in the offing. But can the brand still have the same significance in people’s lives – without a high street presence and a living, breathing sales force? Or is it just a rather sad exercise in ‘retro’. Surely it’s all too easy to buy up the name of a once great brand, stick it at the top of an Amazon imitator and expect the masses to come flocking? There’s probably a short-term novelty value of a famous face coming back from the dead, but is it sustainable into the future? My guess is that there’s going to have to be some serious brand re-engineering if it’s going to mean anything to anyone.

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