This Gapingvoid cartoon was inspired by a page on the Oglivy & Mather website, it’s an actual quote.

O&M is one of the biggest ad agencies in the world. It’s filled with people running around and talking about ‘brands.’

It’s important to talk about advertising here because before there’s a customer service failure, wink wink, we have to buy the product first.

Is the conscious consumer really buying brands or individual products? We have a Dell laptop, an Epson printer and an HP scanner. We have a pair of red Roos, Adidas and some fuzzy brown slippers from LL Bean (among other shoes). Each one of these purchases were made, we think, based on the individual price and value of the objects, compared to our need at the time.

What do you think? Do brands have power and value? Do they assume an increasingly important place in your life? Here’s a bonus Hugh cartoon of relevance.

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