Not sure if anyone noticed, but things are pretty tough right now. Funny how falling stock markets, rocketing unemployment and plummeting confidence has that effect. And while almost no brand is recession proof, here's a prediction; I bet when you make the decision to cut back in certain areas – the brands that will suffer the least will be the ones you LOVE. And I bet if you ask your friends you'll find the same thing is true.

Ironically however, I also bet that despite this we're not likely to see an increase in campaigns from brands that are designed to "build the love." To the contrary, we are already seeing a rise in ads that are very transactional, business – like and well, loveless. Not that there's anything wrong with transactions. It's just that if it's true the beloved brands will fair better, it seems it might make sense to pepper in a bit of lovability along with those offers. Just sayin'.