Would you pay more just to get the right brand? Neil Boorman wonders why so many people do
Take two white t-shirts. They are identical in size, shape and quality, only one has a Nike logo on the breast. The non-branded shirt costs £5, Nike's costs £50. Considering they perform the same basic function, its unimaginable that anyone would consider paying ten times the price for the branded version. Yet a lot of us do. Every day.
Of course there is another function that the £50 shirt performs; the logo on the breast transforms the experience of wearing the thing. To wear the Nike logo is to prove to yourself (and anyone that cares to look) that you are of a certain standing in life, that you perhaps belong to a certain tribe or class, that you subscribe to the attitudes that surround the brand. In this respect, the brand transforms the object from something plain and boring, into an object of desire and meaning.
But is this transformation worth the extra £45? I only ask because at present we in the UK are collectively into £200 billion of consumer debt, which works out at £9,000 a head. Baring this in mind, it would seem that on top of the mortgage, the school fees, the holidays, the car and of course the taxes, we can't really afford to pay the extra price for these brands.
So why is that we do?
Neil Boorman is the author of bonfireofthebrands.blogspot.com. On 17th September, he will be setting fire to his branded possessions and starting a brand-free life. His book, bonfire Of the Brands, is out in 2007.
