People run around with nike logos
And pay for it. People are walking ads
This is why I’ve always loved unmarked clothes since I was in middle school. When I was a kid I was very cynical about being branded
Same. While I don’t necessarily do anything to actively avoid branding, I won’t wear anything where it’s prominent.
There’s a cyberpunk novel called Feed in which some teenager got a trendy Nike tattoo that would force him to say “Nike” in every sentence. I think that’s the next step in our deliberate effort to pay for the privilege of branding ourselves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BYFbXJKJ8U
Transcript for those that don’t want to watch the video: Secretary of State: I’m Secretary of State, brought to you by Carl’s Jr. Pvt. Joe Bowers: Why do you keep saying that? Secretary of State: Because they pay me everytime I do.
I just realized how odd it would be to see people walking around in brandless clothes. As odd as when someone removes all the badges from their car.
The advertising has been so prevalent for so long that it has been normalized. Fascinating.
Expensive designer brands also have multiple lines, the cheapest lines have their logo printed on in bold. While the expensive lines have no branding at all. If you wear expensive designer clothing that screams out the branding then it just shows that you can’t afford the good stuff.
Is it? I just checked and my current attire has no visible branding on it.
Sure, but good luck finding a decent quality running shoe without conspicuous branding at a local shop though.
Can’t wear it, if they don’t make it.
This is why I spent my highschool years in combat boots. Ankle support, tough soles, the same footwear was great for hiking, shopping, whatever. Inconspicuous if your pant legs cover them. Like $40 at the time. Lasted me beyond school.
Only downside was I lived in a desert so too much time outside would make them really hot. That, and I got a lot of people scuffing them going “HEY ARE THOSE STEEL TOE?!” (they were not)
Meanwhile shoes that fall apart in 3 months had some giant billboard logo so you’d have to keep up with their latest image, I guess. Gross.
Thanks for mentioning that. I have no idea how to judge a shoe’s quality. I have to do some research
No not really. Just pick almost any brand besides Nike or Adidas, and you’ll have basically no recogniseable branding besides some small tag on the slap under shoe laces.
I’ll throw Halti’s shoes as example because I like these specific ones
That’s why I like mine: Very subtle branding, though if I could I’d prefer unbranded. But I only bought them because I liked the color scheme and they were comfortable.
Fun fact: The colors of them are:
Ties: Electric Blue
Main material: Thunderstorm blue
Soles: Fog grey
I just think the colors have funny but cool names :)
Edit: (Please put the hate for Linus Tech Tips (LTT) to the side for now)
I actually like the way LTT brands some of it’s merchandise.
Some is subtle/stealth, some is only on tags or subtly integrated in the graphic design.
I generally dislike their prominent branded items.
If the zippers didn’t suck the LTT back pack would be the perfect one for me.
How can you tell that it’s a good shoe? I tried resesrching it but it’s wishy-washy
hmmm I don’t really care about having a logo on my undershorts. Usually I’m really bothered about advertisements but in that circumstance it doesn’t really bother me.
doesnt help that every other brand of cycling shorts suck
Some people wear underwear with huge names on them. I don’t understand it. Good for you if it does not bother you.
I’m not liking the idea that my partner sees an ad every time we get intimate
I bring swag from my previous employers to whatever employer I am currently at :)
Let them know how much I care about company spirit.
Yeah, they did the branding thing to people too.
I work for Microsoft. When I had a kid they sent a “care package” with some items. But literally every item had “Microsoft” or “Met Life” (our employee life insurance I think) all over everything.
I ripped the “met life” shirt off of the snoopy plush and trashed everything else.
It’s not just limited to backpacks. They try to turn everything, even a kids blanket, into a fucking ad. It’s so gross.
You can’t send some cheap items to your employee without branding it with an ad.
I don’t work for MetLife. Why the fuck would that even be on there? I guess they want to keep reminding me to get life insurance because I’m a kid. Like, holy fuck, I hate this shit.
Fuck Microsoft. Fuck their support of genocide. I didn’t even choose to work here. They bought my startup company for pennies on the dollar during Covid.
I ripped the “met life” shirt off of the snoopy plush and trashed everything else.
Trashing was maybe unnecessary? Could’ve donated it to those in need.
However I do support the sentiment. Fuck Microsoft. Hopefully you’ll be able to find employment that is more fulfilling and less genocidal. (This is not a stab at you, I get working for an evil company and wanting to get away from it).
Fuck Microsoft. Fuck their support of genocide.
I’ve been avoiding Microsoft like the plague because of other reasons for a long time, so I didn’t know about this.
Personally I find it to be bad OPSEC, it just puts a big target on a potential victim from bad actors that are specifically targetting that business.
