brand madness.

[Beowulf]

i am beginning to think there's a new disease spreading.

The fuss over the new iPhone , the glut of garish branded clothing items. We're being attacked by brand names !! why is it "cool" to pay over the odds for something that is only exclusive because it's more expensive?

Why would anyone make the decision to buy a T-shirt that functionally is the same as ANY OTHER T-shirt, and is of no lesser manufacture quality than any other T-shirt. The only difference being It's basically a BIG SIGNBOARD for the brand and costs 5 to 10 times the price?

Madness I tell you.

The new iPhone. Looks nice.. granted. but would I pay the premium to get one? No way ! why? functionally speaking it's not so special. sure it has a couple of nice features but do they warrant the mark up and Apple's cut of your calls?

people seem to think paying much more for an item makes it (and them) better than anyone else. look if you really want to impress us why don't you just pile up your money in the middle of your front lawn and set fire to it. That would impress me.. (well it would amuse me at least!)

"Nice T-shirt. What you paid £70 for it? you actually handed over £70 for them to advertise on your chest?.. clever move!"

what next

"'ello I'm from Beowulf taxi cabs inc.. one second while I stick this bumper sticker with out telephone number on yer bum.. there you go.. that'll be £20 please"

When I see someone in their blah blah branded t-shirts, and whatever-branded jeans i really have to fight the urge to Baaaaa at them.


people say about the dumbing down of society.. yup I agree. You just have to walk down the street to see it in action.

"more money than sense.. more money than sense.. fashion sheep.. more money than sense.. trend follower.. baaaaa baaaaa baaaaand wagon jumper.."

is it just me. Am I missing some piece of divine enlightenment here?

[Barry Shnikov]

{snip long rant about life in the 21 century marketplace}

Er...p'raps you should lay off the coffee and sugar, m'man!

You and I, sir, are of an age where it is no longer necessary (nay, perhaps impossible) to be 'cool'. As a consequence, the attempts of callow youth to maintain an utmost degree of worthiness and esteem in the opinion of one's fellows may sadden, but need not annoy.

[ducasi]

Calm down dear – it's only a commercial!

Don't think that people are paying for a brand when they buy an iPhone, but otherwise I mostly agree with you.

I tend to avoid buying clothes with obvious brands on them. Sometimes though it just looks better than an unbranded equivalent.

But the reason why brands are so popular is because the brand owners are so very good at attaching lifestyle values to their brands. Some people are less likely to be influenced by this though.

[Twirly]

Am with Beo on this - 100%.

I would actively avoid buying something with a brand name written all over it. I once bought an umbrella with on it, and spent ages scratching the name off because I was so embarrassed and hadn't realised (yet it was tiny).

I could start going on about the lack of meaning in people's lives leading them to use shopping as a subsitute for meaning, but I actually have some work to do so will save that one till later...

[Beowulf]

Er...p'raps you should lay off the coffee and sugar, m'man!

Calm down dear – it's only a commercial!

am calm.. just went a little .. well.. Basil Fawlty for a moment there !!

one of our offshore guys came into the office in civvies (dress down day is friday.. unless you've been offshore in which case it's acceptable to be in the office in casual clothes) but my boss commented on his dress. Everything about him was an advert. and when we laughed about him being a bill board he got all defensive and said that he wore them because they were expensive and better...

...which cracked us all up frankly.

then i posted on the geeks thread about backing up (why is it every post in the geeks threads ends up as a Us Vs iThem discussion? ) ...

...and I started to think.. (better late than never)

I've nothing against paying a little more for good design. the ipod round touch sensitive audio shuttle feature? INSPIRED !! and yes they "look" good. the iPhone LOOKS good but features wise is it really worth the premium??

am not ranting.. just amusingly confused

[ducasi]

I've nothing against paying a little more for good design. the ipod round touch sensitive audio shuttle feature? INSPIRED !! and yes they "look" good. the iPhone LOOKS good but features wise is it really worth the premium??

What premium? I paid way more for my Nokia N95 than Apple is asking for the iPhone. The N95 has way more features, shame they have all been implemented by programmers who hate users.

[Beowulf]

What premium?

perhaps I've been misinformed. but isn't the iPhone only available on a pretty brutal contract? but anyway I was speaking about premiums on items in general not just the iphone

The N95 has way more features, shame they have all been implemented by programmers who hate users.

What do you mean? I don't work for Nokia..

[Aleks]

While I rarely buy branded clothes, there are many other things I prefer because of the brand...
mcvitie's jaffa cakes
heinz baked beans
a particular brand of washing powder/soap/shampoo
certain electrical goods (I love bosch for white goods)
and various household items.
I have tried other named- and store- brands but always go back to my favourites....

how is buying anything i- or clothes with a logo different?

[Beowulf]

While I rarely buy branded clothes, there are many other things I prefer because of the brand...
mcvitie's jaffa cakes
heinz baked beans

how is buying anything i- or clothes with a logo different?

because when I buy Heinz baked Beans I'm not wearing the Logo down the street. you're paying for the quality NOT the brand. Heinz beans.. IMHO.. TASTE BETTER than others therefore ergo QED they are worth the difference in price.

A .. (what was it he was wearing??) a G-STAR RAW T-shirt. is no more comfortable than my primark or asda one. No more well made than some (Admittedly ASDA and Primark ones are not THAT well made) than say a Ralph Lauren fitted tee.

I have NO PROBLEM with paying more for QUALITY. but QUALITY DOES NOT MEAN having a big logo on the front and being 10 times the price !!

An item can be expensive because it's of a particular quality. An item is not Quality JUST because it's expensive. There's a subtle distinction there.

and I'm sorry.. PLASTERING your brand name across the front doesn't qualify as quality either.. it's conning the mugs who buy it into paying for your advertising.

Paris hilton... famous for being famous

G-star raw. Expensive because they're elitist... Elitist because their expensive !!

see my point now?

[Aleks]

see my point now?

I always did, just don't undertand the need to get annoyed; see Barry's post above.

[Beowulf]

I always did, just don't understand the need to get annoyed; see Barry's post above.

Who's annoyed? Not me for sure

am calm.. just went a little .. well.. Basil Fawlty for a moment there !!

am not ranting.. just amusingly confused

I'm AMUSED.. not ANNOYED am laughing at the "brand fixation" mentality.

*note to self.. put more , , and in my posts from now on hehe*

[pmjd]

What premium? I paid way more for my Nokia N95 than Apple is asking for the iPhone. The N95 has way more features, shame they have all been implemented by programmers who hate users.

So you paid more than £269 AND an 18 month contract, minimum of £35 a month for you N95?

If your talking about the symbian interface then I know what you mean, that's why I went back to a SE K810i. If your talking about locking off features, like the GPS data from other programs etc. then it's no different to apple locking down any development of 3rd party apps from anyone outside apple for the iphone

[Beowulf]

So you paid more than £269 AND an 18 month contract, minimum of £35 a month for you N95?

I like the bit on the O2 website. Unlimited Data and unlimited Wifi but then in small print "Subject to fair use policy" i see however they've cunningly not defined the fair use policy up front !

what is it £35 pcm for 200 free mins and 200 texts? I get much better than that for less than that on my current O2 contract !

[JiveLad]

I love brands. I feel a strong relationship with them: the packaging of the new iPod I bought yesterday is sleek and sexy; the high quality graphics and lettering with the roots tracing back to Steve Jobs accidental visit to a calligraphy class; the product itself: engineered to perfection - and opening it up for the first time - the pristine aluminium, the bright clear screen: a virginal template for uploading my all my stuff; touching it delicately, even stroking it and pressing the buttons to make it come alive, exploring new features and functions, all adding to a rich human experience melding with the California minds who conceived this immortal beast.



ooops I think I've just come

[pmjd]

I like the bit on the O2 website. Unlimited Data and unlimited Wifi but then in small print "Subject to fair use policy" i see however they've cunningly not defined the fair use policy up front !

Didn't you know that all mobile operators use a different definition of "unlimited" to the rest of the world. The £35 a month covers your monthly dosage of ismug too

I love brands. I feel a strong relationship with them: the packaging of the new iPod {snip}

ooops I think I've just come

JiveLad sit down and breathe slowly, we'll get you a glass of water and a brown paper bag, just in case you start hyper-ventilating

or get you an iphone and what the reaction

[Gus]

perhaps I've been misinformed. but isn't the iPhone only available on a pretty brutal contract? but anyway I was speaking about premiums on items in general not just the iphone

BUT .. no one os forcing anyone to buy it. PLEASE give me more brands ... it gives me more choice. At the end of the day you can choose whether to buy your gear at Primark or Boss ... your choice.

[robd]

Conspicuous consumption - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I was always confused by the delight some of my peers had in obtaining expensive designer goods very cheaply given that the chief attraction of them to that group was the high price tag that lent it a certain exclusivity.

[JiveLad]

JiveLad sit down and breathe slowly, we'll get you a glass of water and a brown paper bag, just in case you start hyper-ventilating

or get you an iphone and what the reaction

Thx - sometimes I'm never quite sure when I'm being ironic or not.

[Twirlie Bird]

I was always confused by the delight some of my peers had in obtaining expensive designer goods very cheaply given that the chief attraction of them to that group was the high price tag that lent it a certain exclusivity.

Buying designer labels at high street prices makes perfect sense. These designer outlets are fabulous places to shop. You want a new pair of jeans. You can go to the high street and spend £30 on a pair of 'ordinary' jeans or you can go to a designer outlet and spend £30 on a designer pair of jeans. The designer jeans are far better quality than the high street. They are made better, they wear better and they wash better. Most importantly they feel better.

On top of that you have the thrill of bargain hunting!

I do get what some of you are saying. You go down the market you can get rip off designer goods with fake branding and Primark quality all for a fiver. I don't really understand this. I would agree this is being brought just for the name and no I am not saying there is anything wrong with Primark clothes.

[Twirly]

I was always confused by the delight some of my peers had in obtaining expensive designer goods very cheaply given that the chief attraction of them to that group was the high price tag that lent it a certain exclusivity.

The great hoax of capitalism!