Brand Loyalty vs. Brand Slavery

Need some clothes? So when you go to the store to buy something, what do you look for first? Do you prefer something that fits well or do you prefer something with a brand-tag just to get the eye of your peers?

Brands. What’s so tantalising about them that it makes some people run out to the nearest retail outlet to spend loads of cash on a T-shirt that says “Diesel”, instead of buying something off the street for an affordable price?

On popping this question to some of my peers one of them retorted, “Branded clothes look good and feel good. Plus the stuff one wears is an indication of how successful one is.” Well is it? Personally I don’t give a fuck about the “indication of success” bit.

To me the disadvantages of branded wear are numerous. They are expensive so one has to be a bit wealthy. They are usually readymade, so a bit of wanton weight or lack of protuberance could make the clothes ill-fitting and thus cause discomfort. Also, after buying branded wear one does get a bit closer to the poverty line (maybe by half an inch), but still… you get closer.

Of course, branded clothing do have advantages. For example: if you wear a branded pair of jeans like Wrangler or Levi’s, and if you decide to entertain the public by either slipping on a roadside banana peel or performing a split, or if you have to defend yourself by giving a roundhouse kick to a stalker, then you wouldn’t have to suffer the embarrassment of a tearing sound (originating somewhere near your crotch) ripping through the streets and loud enough to halt traffic. Cheap unknown brands, in that case, would give every passer-by a chance to count the polka dots on your underwear. Which brings us to one of the many reasons some go in for branded clothing: the comfort and fitting that come with the brand, not to forget the style and the longevity.

If money is no concern but quality and comfort is the major issue, then one might as well purchase something with a brand-tag. If one’s previous encounters with a particular brand were good, then the brand satisfaction leads to brand loyalty, which further leads to perpetual purchase of the commodity.

The other reason many go in for branded wear is because of the vogue-factor. Youngsters, especially college-going teenagers, harass their parents to get the biggest brand names just so that they don’t end up as social outcasts and instead become more popular on campus. In this case, though comfort and longevity are acquired, it is not the primary motive for purchase, which brings us to define this reason as: brand slavery.

Brands in this case are like socialising accessories, where they are used as cosmetic cover-ups for missing charm, (sadly but true) more like plastic surgery for one’s personality.

Philosophers will be pondering over the difference between brand loyalty and brand slavery, because the end result is the same—you spend money.

Well, as long as you’re not in the military, police force, or prison, the government really doesn’t care about what you wear (because then you’d be required to sport your uniform), neither does Yamraj. So, until exhibitionism is accepted by law or public-nudism is an established religion, when you venture out on the streets, branded or not, wear something please.

~ by Prick on February 5, 2009.