Branding: A relection
Autor: Bernard Naughton | Publicado: 2017-04-22T10:09:00-07:00


`Products are made in the factory, but brands are made
in the mind´.&nbsp; Walter Landor, (1913-1995)
, branding pioneer.

Have you
noticed how many people wear branded clothes nowadays?

Wearing a
Tshirt with an image is one thing but a T-shirt with some guy´s name&nbsp; emblazoned on&nbsp;
it in huge letters is not my idea of style. Promoting a mass market name
feels more like mental programming or worse , brain washing.&nbsp; 

Fifty&nbsp; years ago when I went shopping with my mother
to buy a pair of jeans we had a choice ; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Levi´s&nbsp;
or Wrangler.?&nbsp; How cool was
that?&nbsp; At that time it was the height of
fashion and fortunately also a symbol of good quality. The label on the jeans
was on the seam of the &nbsp;back right-hand pocket&nbsp; . A very discrete label sewed into the seam which
not only made you feel cool but also was a guarantee of quality. &nbsp; &nbsp;Levi´s had a
tradition going back to&nbsp; the gold miners
in the 19th century . 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nowadays branding is
`in-your-face´ marketing, &nbsp;more connected
with the aforementioned mental conditioning and not necessarily connected with
quality. Why anybody would want to wear an artificially generated name on their
chest is beyond me! &nbsp;The only possible
explanation I can imagine is `herd mentality´ ,which is best illustrated by a
herd of sheep. Get one to follow a specific direction and they will all follow.
The same with human behavior.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I´m not saying that all branding
logos are gross or&nbsp; in bad taste -&nbsp; there are still some brands which use a
small, discrete logo which although instantly recognizable is not `in -your-
face´ . 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; .&nbsp; When it comes to football , people who wear a
team shirt on a day-to-day basis with some players name on the back are
understandable, in that they want to show support for their favorite team. At
best, &nbsp;they feel a sense of being part of
a community at worst they get caught up in `tribal warfare´.&nbsp; But when people wear a T-shirt with
over-sized logos like `Tommy Hilfiger´ they are supporting what?.&nbsp; Ok, the guy exists and made his way up from
the bottom to become a global brand and `more luck to him´, but when a hip-hop
artist´s appearance on Saturday Night Live wearing a `TH´ logo&nbsp;&nbsp; results in all stores with the brand selling
out the next day in New York city that, to me,&nbsp;
suggests&nbsp; conditioning.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That´s it for today,&nbsp; I ´ve got other things to do. The sun is
shining , &nbsp; now where did I leave my Ray-Ban&nbsp;
sunglasses………lol!



(in-your-face)
: something which is impossible to ignore .

(more luck
to him)&nbsp; :&nbsp; I wish him well for what he gained. (English spoken in Ireland)


(herd
mentality) : follow the crowd, loss of individuality.