A primary brand attribute of Blue Bell Ice Cream has to be delicious. However, it seems to be aspiring to reshape its positioning to embrace the attribute of listeria. Can a bacteria be an appropriate attribute for a delicious dessert? 

Once again, Blue Bell is pulling the cows from the marketplace back to the barn. In this case, the ice cream maker is recalling its Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and its newest flavor Cookie Two Step. One step forward, two steps back. The reason for the voluntary recall is the concern that the flavors may contain the deadly listeria bacteria that forced a complete shutdown of the creamery operation in April 2015 and forced a nation to go through a complete withdrawal from its addiction to the dessert.

Across the country, many brands are either dealing with a crisis and trying to survive it, or emerging as stalwarts of survival for the greater good. Here are three scenarios, each with a unique brand connection to perseverance. Make way for the new economy called survival.

The NFL

While American football fans and fantasy team captains hang on to their hopes for a winning season, the National Football League faces its latest challenge as individual expression competes with sportsmanlike conduct and team unity.

It’s too early to tell whether fan loyalty will result in disdain and longterm loss for the league or if the drama along the sideline will actually draw more broadcast viewers and social media followers of the intrigue. Headlines about player and coach behavior seem to be garnering more attention than scores and stats. Commissioner Roger Goodell will need to flex his muscle and leadership when the team owners convene soon to express their obvious differences. It’s all Goodell can do to keep the media at bay as other national voices push the league closer toward its own goal in a defensive posture.

Some would say the NFL barely survived the concussion catastrophe, but this issue is a horse of a different color. We’ll soon see whether the league is more about individual voices or clear expectation of respecting the flag, despite the disrespectful behavior of some who live under it.

Most 16-year-old teens in America will not recall what actually happened on September 11, 2001. Like the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, it's an historic event, but one with little to no point of personal reference.

Time passes quickly, and the tragedy of history is easy to forget. As a result, it's easy to ignore the impact that so many Americans still feel today. However, it is not easy to dismiss the tidal wave of memories many will have this weekend, recalling the sense of uncertainty about loved ones, the vivid details of where they were when it all came crashing down on Manhattan and the somber state of shock that rattled a country.

Time went by too quickly for a local mattress shop in Texas. In the genre of poor local television commercials, the retailer anchored a promotion to 9/11. It's Twin Towers sale mimicked the iconic skyscrapers of New York City as the store manager declared the discounts. At the conclusion of the aired spot, which should have never been slotted for play, two employees crash into the mattress towers, as the manager fakes a gasping look of shock. She then looks to the viewing audience and says, "We'll never forget."

Someone in the station's sales department did forget to speak into the matter, as well as everyone involved in its production. It was tragedy upon tragedy.

The commercial spot experienced a short life, and public apologies continue flowing, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

It's a different reality today in the financial district of Manhattan than it was in 2001. It's a fading reality for Americans who are growing up without being anchored to what a country should never forget.

The Fourth of July family celebration conjures up images of outdoor enjoyment, sweat on the brow, kids splashing in the water, and scoops of ice cream that refresh the soul. Unfortunately, July 4, 2015, marks the first Independence Day celebration without Blue Bell ice cream, since 1907.

As the heat index rises on the remaining summer months, so does the pressure on a brand that Americans in 23 states have loved and consumed with a loyalty equal to their love for flying the U.S. flag. The Blue Bell brand had built a persona as powerful as Old Glory herself. Now, the ice cream’s glory is fading with each lingering day, as we turn our taste buds to alternatives we never considered comparable.