Emotions make people do stupid things

I find it intriguing how much the little ‘emotion’ factor has such much power of ruling over people’s minds.

In some cases, its 180-degrees thinking in reverse. Take any clothing article (caps, shirts, bandanas, etc.) that in no small way billboards a company’s name or logo.

Let’s say you are called Nike or Harley Davidson.

If you were in any other (non-cult marketing based) business, you would have to pay big to get face/eye time for your publicity.

In clothing, people actually pay to have the chance to advertise YOUR stuff.

Complete 100% U-Turn. Absolutely stupid. Boy, does my wallet wish I was in the cult-marketing-clothing companies. I’d cash in on stupidity.

Maybe my next career move, under a different so no one can trace back this post. Who knows ?

Probably best not to tell you that I’ve got the Nike Swoosh tattooed on my shoulder then…

whhooooppppsss…

Each to their own…

Stubob…

STUBOB: At least your ballsy enough to be honest. I can respect that. =0)

read “No Logo” by Naomi Klein.

great bk on the history and recent trends in branding.

When I found out what the real is it sure made me never want to get another pair of Nikes or GAP jeans again.

KURI: Thanks. Was not sure if the book was worth all the hype it got. Thanks for the comments. Would be curious to see peoples reactions if I had a t-shirt that said No logo` in the exact same way teen t-shirts satirize existing company logos (like FedSex). Ehehehe.

Dan, I too was kinda skeptical before reading No Logo, but she really put work into it, actually traveling to SE Asia and interviewing factory workers.

It WILL make you pissed off.

I think a “no logo” shirt would be cool, or better yet get a shirt from American Apparel.

Its damn hard to find any clothes or shoes not made in China or Central America. Some New Balance shoes are made in the US though- the pricier ones.

KURI: Thanks again. I have no problem trying to buy local rather than overseas. I always have one doubt, though.

When I buy local and it winds up being more expensive, I will never know it if truly is more expensive because an asshole is greasing up his pockets with the extra cost or if it truly is more costly. Should that be so, I have a budget to live on, and generally Ill take the less expensive one (hey, the same overpricing asshole wont help me when I`m dirt poor, why should I overpay for him now anyway?).

But at the same quality/price level, Ill buy local (if it <i>does</i> exist indeed). Show me a company that is small, striving, hungry for new business company, that reinvests the extra buck in something other than the managements paycheck (expansion/research), and theyll earn my hard earned dough. Until then, its to the better lower-priced offer.

(Yep, I believe than once a business is fat enough, i.e. everything is paid or very near or with big margins, it is never the bottom of the pyramid who gets paid the extra, and all the gravy goes to a select few who most probably never earned their title from the ground floor up. And, anyway, the underdog is a nice counterbalance to the monsters in place who have yet forgotten they were indeed underdogs once in their lives.)

And, anyway, if I take the same cult-marketing brands I talked about earlier, sweatshop or not, they`re always priced more than the rest of the market.

I am checking AmericanApparel.NET (.COM only seems to sell golf shirts) right now. The site seems to be well designed. Even have dog t-shirts. At first sight seems expensive indeed. 14.60$ for a mens T-Shirt, 41$ for a mens Jersey T-Shirt…better take that free shipping on 100$ or more orders into account…otherwise…ouch!

Totally agree with you Dan - better still are those companies that give away gear (t-shirts, caps, sports bags)in competitions, and all the gear is emblazoned with their logo. You feel like you’ve accomplished something wonderful by winning, and then walk down the street as a living advertisement for Fox Sports, Jim Beam etc.

Lets all cut the labels off our clothing…RIGHT NOW…!!!

I’d pay to wear a Biotest shirt.

I don’t know if I understand the purpose of this post. From what I’m reading, I’m lead to understand that I should not wear a Testosterone shirt, Renegade Training shirt or skully, no Detroit lions cap, etc. even though I am passionate about such things, because I have been controlled by my emotions and the market to wear them and not because they are a part of who I am?
Being controlled by emotions is having eating disorders so you meet some external image or wearing the harley bandana to look hard even though you don’t own a harley and have no desire too. Being controlled by emotions is having to buy the pants, shoes, shirts, whatever and being unable to let them lay where they are.
Think about this, if you by the ‘no logo’ shirt or shoes…you’re still buying their marketing (no harm to the environment, exploiting of workers, maybe still good quality).
Just some thoughts,
Peace,
T-Ren

TREN: The bottom line is, why would you pay to advertise other`s brands ? You should be paid for it, not the other way around.

As for the No logo (litteraly) concept, first of all I will most probably pay less for the said item. Secondly, whether the No logo (again litteraly) comes from company A, B or C, nobody will know it, and I will not be a walking billboard for either A, B, or C, which is precisely my objective. The only publicity they will get from me is word of mouth, which is the only worthwile publicity IMHO.

In very short:

A) You want me to advertise for you? Pay me.
B) You dont want to pay me for being a billboard for your cult-brand or lifestyle? Too bad, I wont buy it or buy in.
C) Advertising executives know how to circumvent this. They get people emotional. At that point, common sense leaves the door, it is open season for everybody, and nothing intelligent can be debated when we fall in the emotional/lifestyle/image thing. One thing is for sure, though, some people will cash in on your back in the meanwhile.

Hope this helps! =0)

Dan

RADAR: Dead on. I dont need no label to be myself. A nice example is names like Sean Connery, Bill Clinton, Harrison Ford or similar brandless`, low profile known people. When I speak about them, nobody talks about their clothing style or brands and they still know who I am refering to.

Like my backpack. I took out the label. If their products are so good, they won`t need label publicity. They will get word of mouth. That alone can get you very far in business.

On a non clothing basis, I am also watching for army surplus manufacturers or their suppliers, when possible. The stuff is tried, tested, true and good enough for the armed services (almost a guarantee it will be good enough for my civilian and sometimes outdoorsy pasttimes). Guess what? No label. Does the job. Price is generally lower too. Excellent. I don`t need more. =0)

All - thanks for not flaming me…

I always think each to their own. I’ve liked Nike since being a kid and they are the best sports goods company etc…etc…

I have four tatoo’s, a Celtic Band around my right arm, Zoso (Jimmy Pages symbol from Led Zeppelin), the Nike swoosh and also Red Hot Chili Peppers written in Chinese…

I live for now, regret is a wasted emotion (not that it’s an emotion… I think…). I like Nike so decided to get a tatoo of my favourite sportsbrand… I really don’t see the big deal to be honest…

My father died of cancer when I was 5… Due to me “having issues” in my teens I ended up smoking and eventually becoming a heroin addict later in my early twenties… My father never smoked in his life and got cancer, I smoked by choice - pretty dumb and stupid really…

Now I’m the complete opposite, don’t smoke, very much into Training, healthy eating and rarely drink. I think so far this year

I am sorry for the damage I caused when being an addict to my family and friends but it’s pointless regretting everything that I did as at the time I wanted to do it.

At the time I wanted to get a tatoo of the Nike swoosh and I did. I don’t regret it and never will.

I am about to get a tatoo on Saturday of my sons name and date of birth on my forearm, can’t wait…

Thanks again for not flaming, things so often get into personal attacks on here.

Cheers…Stubob…

How about getting so emotional about brand labeling that you actually took the time to remove a logo from a backpack!?!?

I can buy going for the best deal and paying much less for a very similar product which has no fancy label, but to actually get so emotionally wrapped up in the whole thing that you go out of your way to remove a label strikes me as slightly irrational. There are so many better ways to spend your free time.

“Hello, pot. This is the kettle. You are black.”

SCOTT: About the label thing, I should have mentioned it was already half-torn out because of wear and tear. My bad.

Don’t worry, I don’t have that much time off. And with all the clothing I have, that would be some time investment. Thanks for the opportunity to clarify the point.

Stu: I don’t think anyone here is so militant as to flame ya for Nike ink.

By the way how is RHCP translated in Chinese? the character for “chili” is literal?
In Japanese they dont use the chinese characters but spell it phonetically.

T-Ren, the point is not that wearing a T-Mag shirt is necesarily bad. If its well-made, fits, does the job, and doesn’t eat up %50 of your monthly budget, cool. But what if some shirt is made by 13 yr old girls forced to work 90 hour wks for 16 cents an hour?

Thats about what workers in SE Asia making Nikes $150 shoes do (thus Nike can afford to spend a 1/2 billion on ads and Lebron James).

Nike knows that Lebron’s street cred is gonna sell shoes ALL day to kids, who may not be able to afford them. And Nike doesnt give a shit.

Its not something I want to support, so if I have access to decent shoes or clothes made by workers treated fairly, then I’ll take that.

Down the road, who knows, more people in the US may have jobs if everyone supported decent companies(wishful thinking perhaps, I know).