I think you are confusing normal “Branding” concepts with Bennett’s comments about free “Advertising”

- Robert

Nike shoes are obvious.

Some women’s “designer” sunglasses. Mostly the ones with giant lenses and obnoxious frames.

And PC computers are the worst, in my opinion. Whether it’s a laptop or a desktop, it’ll be covered in stickers advertising the video card, the processor chip(s), and many others. Not to mention all the ‘crap’ware that comes pre-installed on the computer, with shortcuts vomited all over the desktop. Windows operating system aside, I can’t believe people pay for that kind of product right-out-of-the-box. I wouldn’t pay for a TV with cable/satellite providers, surround sound systems, and recent movie titles splashed all over it.

;o

I have noticed this for many years and try to avoid this happening to me, every chance I get. Actually, one of my first design professors brought this to my attention. If you showed up to class wearing a t-shirt with any sort of logo, he would blast you. “Why do you want to advertise for that company for free?” he would ask. Enough so, that I stopped wearing any clothes that showed any sort of branding what so ever.

From that point on, I have noticed this on car bumpers, tire covers, fences in my neighborhood, etc.

Hey, that’s a great idea! Actually, many companies put a credit in large brochures or annual reports. I wonder when that became commonplace.

FYI, car dealers will remove their logos if you ask them. I recently bought a new car and refused to take the car off the lot until they removed their logo. They kept ignoring me until they tried to hand me the keys and wave goodbye.

I don’t have as much problem with home contractors putting signs on my lawn while they are doing work. Most contracting work is found through word-of-mouth and personal referrals, so they need as much help as they can get.

Another interesting thing that happens is when a company makes the jump with consumers and becomes a status symbol. I would love to take the logo off my Toyota Tercel, but if I had a Lexus, I don’t know if I would quite so eager to stop the advertising.

It goes the other diretion, too. I used to smile when I saw Apple stickers. I guess somewhere around the time the iPod got so big the stickers kind of lost their meaning. I am a huge mac fan, but I won’t give them free advertising anymore. Now, if I see one on a car it seems to cheapen the Apple brand. Bumper stickers seem to go against the clean brand image that made Apple so beautiful in the first place.

mark @
ISM &
BAMmGRAPHICS