Brands and Trends

Pressure to use and follow all things trendy and popular has been around for too long. Terence goes against the flow.

Brands and trends. Nice rhyme there.

Anyway, something has recently caught my attention. Maybe it should have done so earlier as that was one of the things I wrote about in The BMW and Mercerdes article. So I'm not observant and I like to sleep; anything wrong?

I'm not sure how long this has been going on (my guess 20-30 years). What I'm talking about is the craze for famous and prestige brands. Examples: Ferrari. Addidas. Stuff like that.

Nowadays, people are crazier than ever, especially teens. Everyone wants to be seen with the latest Burberry handbag. Or with that new iPhone.

This is not just limited to products, either. Nowadays, people who don't know about celebrities/football teams will just choose the most popular one, rather than admit that they know nothing about them.

This would all be fine if good brands made good things all the time. Obviously, it can't. But even when Nike makes a useless pair of shoes, people still buy it, because it's Nike. People will buy the stupid Merc B-Class because it's a Merc(Mercedes have been clever in doing that). And people still love Miley Cyrus even when she makes terrible songs(wait a minute, they're always terrible), because "she's Miley and she's so hot".

Yes, yes I know I listen to Linkin Park even when they're crap. Guilty.

But all this isn't healthy, to say the least.
What if, just what if, BMW one day made cars with Proton quality? And people still bought them for the badge? Imagine that, times every industry on the planet. The entertainment industry has already got it. How else did we get singers like the Jonas Brothers?

Is this our future? A future where we all mindlessly follow what's 'in and trendy'? Even the things that are 'in and trendy' have no taste?

As American Idol used to say, the power is in your hands. And I beg all you people out there, please don't be stupid.

Disclaimer: This article can only be deemed 'insulting and offensive' by people who are either senseless or feel stepping on germs is animal cruelty.