Sarah's Thoughts on Branding

I think I had been peripherally aware, at least, of the media's tendency towards "branding" rather than advertising a product. I clearly remember in the 80's preferring to drink Coke over Pepsi because I liked Coke's much more inclusive image better than what I perceived as Pepsi's "cooler than thou" approach. I couldn't tell the difference by taste, but I could by corporate image.

Although I knew on some level that companies promoted brands over products, I didn't think they were all that blatant about it until I watched some tv last week. There was an ad for some pet store or other that came right out and plainly said they were having a "Brand sale". Brand name pet foods, all on sale.

We see the interior of a house, at the front door. A man walks in and looks around. He calls "Mister Barky Von Schnauzer?" No answer. He tries again: "Mister Barky Von Schnauzer!" Still no answer. Voice over: "GIVE YOUR DOG A NAME HE ACTUALLY LIKES!" And then it launches into its pitch for their Brand-name sales event.

I find it ridiculous that my dog would care what name brand her food is, but the ad clearly urges people to take their pet's opinions into consideration (and it conveniently lets us know what those opinions are, how thoughtful of them). I doubt I even would have noticed this had it not been for the Klein readings of last week, but like a film course will destroy a person's enjoyment of movies, this course is at least making me much more aware of advertising and what they're actually doing.