Against Brand Loyalists

Morning Thoughts #140

You say brand loyalty, I say corporate harem. Buying on name recognition alone is to enter the chambers of post-industrial sultans. Advertising campaigns wear us out until their object is worn. Status in the masses, status in the masses—Mount Mediocrity with a broad customer base, snow-capped with receipts!

Say what you want about the millennial generation (and really, say it all because the dream is dead), but there was a moment in the late 00s and early 10s where a subculture developed (not quite mainstream but with a sizeable cultural influence) that represented a real pushback to corporate name brand dominance. Authenticity over ubiquity. But we lost! We were outspent on the (advertising) campaign trail! Fast forward a decade, and “What’s your favorite band?” has morphed more than ever into “What’s your favorite brand?”

Our taste itself is the great error of our age—woe to an underlying and pervasive belief in the legitimating power of popularity. Merger, merger, merger! The oft-repeated boogeyman of one world government is really the product of a thousand corporate mergers. They proudly sponsor your ballots, happy that voting (which today is just another form of shopping) is the ultimate popularity contest. Friends, throw away your vote—do not litter! (And what are our elected leaders today but litter personified?) Better to spend your time imagining, outlining, and then drafting new constitutions for better regimes!