Did you catch the recent episode of Mad Men, where Don and Peggy make separate pitches for the Heinz ketchup account? To recap, Don’s presentation boards consisted of close-ups of “ketchup-worthy” foods such as burger and fries with the headline “Pass the Heinz.” His logic: it’s more compelling not to explicitly say “ketchup” and not to tout that it’s the best ketchup…this can be inferred from the images.

Simple. Less is more. The bare essentials. Back to basics. User-friendly. No fine print. Clutter-free. Transparent. Clean. Easy.

In 1980, the typical credit card contract was about a page and a half long. Today it is thirty-one pages. The consequence is that people no longer read these agreements, then find their accounts canceled or subject to high interest rates.

I’m always on the hunt for simplicity—a rare and valuable commodity because of its scarcity—so it caught my attention when globally T-Mobile recently announced its “Simple Choice” wireless pricing plan. My interest in the topic is hardly surprising—like many consumers, I have a smartphone and an iPad. I also just spent two years researching and writing a book entitled Simple: Conquering the Crisis of Complexity.

At the beginning of "Walden," Henry David Thoreau makes a concise case against the complexity of modern life. "Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!" he writes. "[L]et your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail....Simplify, simplify." That was the 19th century, though, and we live in the 21st. In a typical day, we encounter dozens—if not dozens upon dozens—of moments when we are delayed, frustrated or confused by complexity. Our lives are filled with gadgets we can't use (automatic sprinklers, GPS devices, fancy blenders), instructions we can't follow (labels on medicine bottles, directions for assembling toys or furniture) and forms we can't decipher (tax returns, gym membership contracts, wireless phone bills).

In a new book, Simple: Conquering the Crisis of Complexity, co-author Irene Etzkorn, executive director of Siegel+Gale’s simplification practice, describes how organizations can successfully achieve simplicity.

The geniuses behind Method have truly caused “creative destruction” in their $17.3 billion-dollar industry by developing products that change the way people wash, clean, do laundry—and even buy their products. Thanks to Method, we can avoid the noxious miasma exuded from other chemical-laden goods and enjoy safe, sustainable products that are manufactured responsibly. Cleaner cleaning products. Cleaner conscience.

The recent class action lawsuits against Doctor’s Associates Inc. (owners of the Subway brand) regarding the discrepancy in length of Subway’s “footlong” sandwiches, resurfaced an interesting trademark issue as well.

From the corporate section of eBay’s website, you get the impression that the company sees the brand experience as a key priority. For example, in the leadership bio section, each executive lists his or her favorite eBay experience. Here is Mark Carges, the chief technology officer: “I sold a heavy oak dresser from the early 1900s on eBay using the local-pickup option—my first time trying this. I wasn't disappointed, selling it to a local, first-time eBay buyer who paid with PayPal.”

Main Street, USA, lined with storefronts—a coffee shop, a bank, a tailor, a hair salon, a stationery, a health insurer, a pet groomer, a gas station, wait…health insurer? Yes, not an insurance agency, mind you, but a storefront from an insurance company itself—Humana, Florida Blue and others already exist.