Branding

I've often been perplexed by some of the advertising and branding that gets thrown at me as a consumer. I like to pat myself on the back for my objectivity in the face of the bombardment my subconscious is being subjected to, before taking another swig of Pepsi, which I have preferred to Coca-Cola since the Corrs promoted it back in 1998.

The thing is though when you actually stop and think about it some of the messages behind branding is just a little bit weird. For example, I saw this in Sainsbury's today:


When you think about it, who would actually take a pilgrim's advice when choosing which particular cheddar to buy? Whilst I'm sure that pilgrims can offer good consumer advice on such things as footwear, maps, spiritual literature, etc, I'm not sure why their expertise should necessarily extend to dairy produce. Moreover, I'm not sure why advertisers would think that the the public at large would think this is the case. Did a survey of the British population find that 4 out of 5 individuals would defer to religious fundamentalists when choosing a cheese?

Answers on a postcard please.

Whilst I'm on the subject of bizarre quirks of retail, yes Mr John Sainsbury do I accept that my bags must be verified. I can see that we wouldn't want me trying to carry my shopping in, I dunno, a brick or something by accident. Summon an attendant forthwith!