{"id":10844,"date":"2026-03-04T01:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T06:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/2026\/03\/04\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T15:29:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T20:29:04","slug":"how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>By Charlotte Black, Chief Strategy Officer at Saffron Brand Consultants<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Emerald Fennell\u2019s Wuthering Heights shows that refreshing a brand isn\u2019t about surface change &#8211; it\u2019s about updating how the story is told (with the help of big budget PR campaigns). The novel\u2019s emotional heart hasn\u2019t changed; what\u2019s changed is the framing. A bold visual style (potentially inspired by Lee McQueen and Tim Burton), a Charli xcx soundtrack and strong creative choices bring a 19th-century story into today\u2019s culture. That balance &#8211; staying true to the core while updating the expression is where brand renewal works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve seen this many times before. Fashion houses regularly reinvent themselves by tapping into youth culture while keeping their heritage intact. LEGO came back from near bankruptcy by returning to its belief in creative play, then expanding into films, gaming and partnerships. Guinness continues to modernise its advertising while staying rooted in craft and character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lesson for marketers is simple: protect what makes you distinctive, but express it in a way that feels current. Updating a brand shouldn\u2019t water it down &#8211; it should make it more relevant to more people, or the right people more often. And even polarising reactions can be healthy. When people are talking, culture is moving &#8211; and brands that move with it grow.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ben Cleaver, Founder &amp; Strategy Partner at BigSmall<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marketers shouldn\u2019t try to \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d their brands. The more interesting lesson from Wuthering Heights is why the original work by Emily Bront\u00eb has sustained such iconic status in the first place. Emerald Fennell isn\u2019t rescuing an outdated story, she\u2019s re-lensing a timeless one. Nearly 180 years on, the novel still resonates because its core themes of obsession, love, status and wildness are human truths that don\u2019t expire. What changes is the framing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s the real takeaway for heritage brands. If you\u2019re refreshing one, don\u2019t start at the surface. Tinkering with the logo, tone of voice, palette or campaign line is often cosmetic and risks feeling insubstantial. Start with the emotional engine: what belief made this matter in the first place? What tension does it sit in? What does it make people feel? Most legacy brands don\u2019t need reinvention, they need rediscovery. Over time, the original fire can get obscured; the job is to strip back to what still burns and let a new audience experience it in their own language. That\u2019s how brands stay relevant without losing themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The lesson for marketers is simple: protect what makes you distinctive, but express it in a way that feels current.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3],"topics":[2],"class_list":["post-10844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-brands-marketers","topics-editorial"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands? | AW360<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The lesson for marketers is simple: protect what makes you distinctive, but express it in a way that feels current.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AW360\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-04T06:14:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-05T20:29:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Advertising Week\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Advertising Week\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Advertising Week\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ae698b8b96e141836006836db70d9e69\"},\"headline\":\"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-04T06:14:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-05T20:29:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":426,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Brands + Marketers\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands? | AW360\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-04T06:14:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-05T20:29:04+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/news\\\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\\\/10844\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/\",\"name\":\"AW360\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"AW360\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/AW360_Logo_2023_FullColor.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/AW360_Logo_2023_FullColor.png\",\"width\":1906,\"height\":849,\"caption\":\"AW360\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\\\/aw360\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ae698b8b96e141836006836db70d9e69\",\"name\":\"Advertising Week\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3136b4a05c15e5dac7e877b1998ec3e252a59b6da6e4b471522d944c91b71940?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3136b4a05c15e5dac7e877b1998ec3e252a59b6da6e4b471522d944c91b71940?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3136b4a05c15e5dac7e877b1998ec3e252a59b6da6e4b471522d944c91b71940?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Advertising Week\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/advertisingweek.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands? | AW360","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands?","og_description":"The lesson for marketers is simple: protect what makes you distinctive, but express it in a way that feels current.","og_url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/","og_site_name":"AW360","article_published_time":"2026-03-04T06:14:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-05T20:29:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Advertising Week","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Advertising Week","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/"},"author":{"name":"Advertising Week","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#\/schema\/person\/ae698b8b96e141836006836db70d9e69"},"headline":"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands?","datePublished":"2026-03-04T06:14:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-05T20:29:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/"},"wordCount":426,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg","keywords":["Brands + Marketers"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/","name":"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands? | AW360","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-04T06:14:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-05T20:29:04+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/How-can-marketers-Wuthering-Heights.jpg","width":1600,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-can-marketers-wuthering-heights-their-brands\/10844\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Can Marketers \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d Their Brands?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#website","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/","name":"AW360","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#organization","name":"AW360","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/AW360_Logo_2023_FullColor.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/AW360_Logo_2023_FullColor.png","width":1906,"height":849,"caption":"AW360"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/#\/schema\/person\/ae698b8b96e141836006836db70d9e69","name":"Advertising Week","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3136b4a05c15e5dac7e877b1998ec3e252a59b6da6e4b471522d944c91b71940?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3136b4a05c15e5dac7e877b1998ec3e252a59b6da6e4b471522d944c91b71940?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3136b4a05c15e5dac7e877b1998ec3e252a59b6da6e4b471522d944c91b71940?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Advertising Week"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/advertisingweek.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10844"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17404,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10844\/revisions\/17404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10844"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=10844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}