I just came from a marketing research group for a new Starbucks product. To quote one of the ladies at the table, "There's something classy about walking into a room holding a Starbucks cup...like Mary Kate and Ashley" Really? Holding a paper cup destined for landfill with a Starbucks logo on it makes you feel superior to others? I wonder if others feel her superiority when she's armed with her cup. No matter that Starbucks is not exclusive- they're everywhere. It's not particularly expensive or out of reach- a regular cup of coffee is under $2. It doesn't matter because the bottom line is she bought into the branding. She bought a slice of the lifestyle.

Branding is defined as, "the promoting of a product or service by identifying it with a particular brand", really it's a way of getting attention for your product. Advertising is easy to tune out, and most products on the market don't stand out from others, so how do brands reach the unreachable? How do they create a buzz around their mediocre product? They have been known to sponsor parties, art events, music CD's, football stadiums, sports teams, you name it. What's next, hurricanes? ...and Hurricane Capital One brews in the Atlantic. Oops, I shouldn't give them any ideas! These insidious branding methods are wildly successful, yet everyone thinks these tactics don't work on them...this is how evil it is.

In Lucas Conley's book, Obsessive Branding Disorder, The Illusion Of Business And The Business Of Illusion, he describes how advertising seamlessly encroaches the consumer's once sacred social areas and seduces them to buy into the prescribed lifestyle, more effectively than traditional advertising ever could. It's all about reaching consumers on an emotional level, making them want to buy into lifestyle fantasies that a brand has created.

In high school, I saw an ad for Adventure Island, a water park here in Tampa. They used a Tones On Tail song for the music! I was shocked, my friends saw the commercial, we all talked about it. We thought surely they stole the song, who knows. Maybe 4AD sold them the rights, but somehow, it all seemed out of place. Then, over the years, more and more indie and alternative music was being used to hawk everything from cell phones to restaurants to cars. Modest Mouse, Architecture In Helsinki, The Walkmen, Deadly Snakes, Stereolab, Of Montreal, Iron & Wine. Has the music industry become desperate? Because of all the illegal downloading and lack of support from radio stations, artists and labels are looking for new ways to make money. According to Tim DeLaughter of Polyphonic Spree, "I had M&Ms offer me three hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a Tripping Daisy song back in the day and I was like - no way I can't do that - and today I'd be like... bring it on! I've got a family to feed, I've got four kids and a twenty four piece band. yeah, bring it on." Wrigley gum secretly hired Chris Brown to write a song around their slogan "double your pleasure, double your fun" They only recently spilled the beans that they were behind it after it secured the #3 slot on hit charts. Here's a song that is being played at clubs, people bought the CD, playing it in their homes!

No demographic is safe. In his article entitled, "Hipsters: The Dead End of Western Civilization", (Adbusters 79) Douglas Hadow notices that "Hipsterdom is the first 'counterculture' to be born under the advertising industry's microscope, leaving it open to constant manipulation but also forcing it's participants to continually shift their interests and affiliations. Less a subculture, the hipster is a consumer group- using their capital to purchase authenticity and rebellion. But, the moment a band, sound, trend, style or feeling gains too much exposure, it is suddenly looked upon with disdain. Hipsters cannot afford to maintain any cultural loyalties or affiliations for fear that they will lose relevance."

We have to be keen to what's happening. Let's open our eyes and be conscious consumers, not android sheep holding out open wallets. This will only get worse. Just observe and recognize it for what it is. Staying conscious is your best defense. Stop consuming "cool" and create it yourself. For starters, don't wear clothing with visible logos. I'm not saying you have to buy generic, but there is no need to advertise on your body and pay for it. Kool-aid sneakers, for example...what kind of quality do you expect from a sneaker made by sugary drink people?

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