Sheep are the stars of a new advertising campaign. Not that it’s unusual for companies to use animals to peddle products. Geckos and Geico come to mind.

What’s curious is the company that has decided to embark on menagerie marketing.

Corona.

The new commercials urge consumers to “ditch from the herd“ by showing a sheep-costume clad person standing up and walking away from the rest of the animals.

Next, a hoof slams down a bottle of Corona Light.

The new spots are a drastic break from the unique, easily identifiable, and nicely positioned “Find your beach” theme that characterized the Corona brand for years.

The switch makes no sense.

In fact, I use Corona as an example of a brand that has done a terrific job separating itself from the competition. “Find your beach” evokes an emotion. It takes consumers to a warm, relaxing place, away from the busy party-time nights that other beers promote.

Most beer marketing mostly consists of a poorly crafted punch line with a product shot at the end.

Sadly, Corona has joined that herd.

You know the commercial.

Halfway through the GEICO commercial, one nerdy musician says to the other, “You know, Ronny, folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to GEICO sure are happy.”

And the other asks, “How happy are they, Jimmy?”

Well, I wasn’t happy.

Flying home from a stopover in Newark on Monday, I heard a murmur rising in the airport about bombs going off at the Boston Marathon. On my iPad, the first hit when I googled the news was an ABC news link. When I clicked on the video feed, GEICO blocked me out of the new feed until its inane commercial ran its course. So I had to watch all the stupid banter under the context of a gut-wrenching headline banner.

Here’s what’s strange. I didn’t blame ABC at the time for this affront. My anger was all aimed at GEICO. Its idiotic banter was inappropriate at the time and its message was trite in the crucible of context.

Still, online news services need to grow up. Their broadcast buddies learned long ago to suspend much of the commercial time to bring important and breaking news to interested viewers. Online? Not so much.

Marketing campaigns and business models change at dizzying speeds. Problem is, many are scrapped before the true results are known.

The culprit? Quarterly earnings.

Shareholders use quarterly reports to judge advertising campaigns. That’s a mistake. Successful marketing moves should ultimately increase earnings, but one bad quarter doesn’t mean the strategy isn’t working.

Take JCPenney, for example. The retailer is in dire need of revitalization. Last year, the company unveiled its “square deal” initiative, which offered everyday low prices instead of coupons and other discounts. Once the first disappointing quarterly report came in, impatient shareholders stomped their feet and demanded a return to sales gimmicks.

Thanks to quarterly reports, long-term strategy and shareholders are often pitted against each another. As a result, there is little chance to see big change.

Celebrity endorsements are risky business. Companies that hire famous faces also buy any ugly publicity that person generates.

That’s why corporations are quick to axe celebrities who engage in bad behavior.

Nike’s new Tiger Woods campaign, which kicked off as soon as the golfer regained his number one ranking, appears to capitalize on his past mistakes. It deliberately reminds customers of the womanizing that cost Woods his wife and his sterling reputation.

The slogan: “Winning Takes Care of Everything” implies that being back on top of the professional golf heap erases Woods’ personal transgressions.

Not so, said Nike. The quote was innocently lifted from Woods’ response when asked if rival Rory Mcllroy intimidated him.

Sorry, Nike. The public may admire Tiger Woods’ golf ability, but they don’t like his personal life. This in-your-face celebrity campaign could backfire.

Papa John’s, the pizza giant with commercials that feature CEO and founder John Schnatter, announced that its chief marketing officer, Andrew Varga, is leaving.

Here’s some advice to Varga’s replacement: Stop. Stop with low-price promotions, the free giveaways and the overall nonsense that’s permeating the pizza industry.

Schnatter built a successful business with revenues over a billion dollars. But it stubbornly remains in third place behind Pizza Hut and Dominos. All three pizza peddlers make huge sums of money but market share doesn’t shift no matter how many advertising dollars the big three spend.

Why? Because the trio does little more than out-gimmick one another with cut-rate deals.

Let’s see. Right now, Papa John’s offers an $11 large steak-and- cheese pizza, as well as a free pizza with any other large pizza. At Pizza Hut, a dinner box costs just $10 with pizza and bread sticks. But Domino’s beats both with its two-topping pan pizza for $7.99, a medium pizza for $5.99 and half off any pizza ordered online.

How long till one of the chains offers pizza for a buck?

The next Papa John’s CMO should focus on what it means to be a Papa John’s customer. Other than being a lover of cheap pizzas, that is.

Super Bowl XLVII is two weeks away. The teams have been set and hoopla is building toward to the game in New Orleans.

Now our attention now turns to the television ads. Many watch the big game because they’re football fans. Others because it’s a national, cultural event. Still others tune in only for the commercials.

Tim Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, advises companies that are considering a Super Bowl ad buy. He says there are three simple rules to follow: Start early. Focus on branding. And make it part of a larger campaign.

Smart recommendations.

But here’s a better piece of advice: Don’t do it. The only reason to have a Super Bowl ad is to gain awareness, which nearly all of the Super Bowl advertisers don’t need. Who’s unfamiliar with Budweiser? What viewer doesn’t know the cars, beverages and snack foods that will be trotted out via expensive ads?

At about $3.8 million for 30 seconds, the cost simply isn’t worth it. Even if you follow Mr. Calkins’ advice and focus on the brand without letting the message get lost by an advertising agency run amok, your ad risks being drowned out in the tsunami of ads and entertainment.

Instead, have fun and focus on the game. Watch the Harbaugh brothers go head to head, enjoy the entertaining ads that really won’t mean much at all.

Awareness and preference are two different things. Customers can know a product without coveting it. GEICO, for instance. The insurance company’s relentless use of a gecko as a company spokesman have created a market that knows GEICO exists. Unfortunately, there is nothing about the lizard that emotionally resonates with those most likely to switch. I’m never sure there was.

The repeated use of the reptile is one of the reasons why GEICO remains in third place despite outspending market leaders Allstate and State Farm.

It gets worse. Now GEICO has brought back the pig.

During Monday Night Football, GEICO once again trotted out that whining pig. Later that evening, the pig made yet another appearance with a street luger. Does GEICO see this pig as its new equity marker?

People may recognize GEICO’s pig from earlier ads and they may even make a mental connection back to the brand. But how does that peculiar pig or that tired gecko create preference?

Memo to GEICO: If you are worried that customers are don’t know you, stop. The market is plenty aware of the GEICO name.

Now is the time to look beyond barnyard animals, lizards and caveman to give the market an emotional reason to covet your brand.

Firestone’s new brand promise is so good and so compelling that everyone in every category should take notice. Firestone found the highest intensity and claimed it.

“While we don’t make cars, Firestone is a car company,” is a stroke of branding genius. From an inside perspective, it takes a lot of brass to position yourself against your own product, but that is just what Firestone has done. It recognized that no one buys tires because of the enjoyment of the rubber. Customers buy tires as a necessity, while their emotional attachment is to a bigger idea: cars.

So watch this category carefully. You heard it here first. Firestone will steal market share from competitors who will scramble to play second best to the company that’s seized upon the highest emotional intensity. Firestone’s promise is simply more emotional than Michelin’s “you have a lot more riding on your tires.”

Firestone’s message instantly makes the brand more important and more preferred than those of its competitors.

Kudos, Firestone. A brand that gets it.

Let’s give Apple credit. The tech giant had the smarts to yank its “Genius” advertising campaign soon after it debuted during the Olympics.

Thank God. Because I hated them.

I’ve been a strong supporter of the Apple brand and feel incomplete without it, which is the mark of branding success. In fact, if Apple produced a brick emblazoned with its logo I’d be first in line to buy one.

Under Steve Jobs’ leadership, Apple became a coveted brand that instilled intense  loyalty in customers. Apple devotees were willing to travel to Apple Stores to purchase pricey products that were similar to items being sold for less in big-box outlets.

Enter the “Genius” ads: These featured an Apple employee from the store’s Genius Bar helping customers with their Apple computers. These ads were so far off brand they seemed to signal that Apple’s demise might be underway.  The Genius commercials abandoned the simplicity, elegance and “Think Different” position Apple owns. Worse, they were reminiscent of Best Buy’s “Geek Squad” campaign.

It was sad to see Apple wallowing in the mire.

While it’s commendable that Apple scrapped them, the fact that the company produced this misguided campaign at all is troubling. If you’ve read Walter Isaacson’s biography,  “Steve Jobs,” you know just how deeply involved the tireless co-founder of  Apple was  in every facet of the company, from development to design to, yes, marketing.

Jobs was an unapologetic micro-manager who battled with those who disagreed with him.

With the passing of Steve Jobs, I wonder what the future holds for Apple. And worry.

Every company that cares about its brand should work hard to separate its corporate identity from the political and personal views of those who work there. This is good advice for both privately owned and publicly traded corporations.

Chick-fil-A was in the news recently after its president, Dan Cathy, made public his position toward gay marriage. Regardless of persuasion, preference and possible religious views, these actions tarnished the Chick-fil-A brand. Cathy’s statements introduced elements that are contradictory to the brand identity that Chick-fil-A’s advertising, menu and workers have worked hard to establish.

Until last week, the mention of Chick-fil-A conjured up humorous images of cows that could not spell. What also came to mind were unfailingly pleasant employees as well as some of the nicest and cleanest fast-food locations – ones that never made you feel soiled for eating there.

Now what comes to mind is a divisive social issue.

Chick-fil-A’s marketing and continued brand focus over the years was not inexpensive. Judging by the company’s growth, that money was not wasted. Now, by making gay rights a reason to prefer or not prefer Chick-fil-A over other fast-food restaurants, the company has undermined the work it put into that successful brand.

While we live in a country that allows free speech, when it comes to divisive issues, it is smarter to say nothing at all. Stealing market share is all about understanding objections and identifying triggers that will make customers switch. Reduce objections whenever possible, never introduce new ones.

Free speech is an important right and it is certainly Cathy’s privilege to comment about his personal beliefs as much as he wishes. But as result of his outspokenness, Chick-fil-A must redouble efforts to refocus its brand because this chain is not only about chicken sandwiches and silly cows anymore.