What: Remove brand names and
logos from purchased goods
How: Have companies agree to
keep their advertisement to billboards, commercials, and ads...not
their customers
Why: I feel that when people see
the names/brands of items others have, they are more quick to judge
them without really thinking about what they are doing. I believe too
much worth is put in/on what brand of item people have.
Brands...logos...they are everywhere
you look. Even though you say you may not judge someone by what they
are wearing (and by wearing, I mean displaying the name of the store
or logo of their purchased goods), it sometimes happens
unconsciously.
These names and logos on purchased
goods give the viewer the feeling they can make judgments about a
person right off the bat.
You see someone walk around with a
shirt that says Gucci. A symbol on their pant pockets that
lets you know they got their bottoms from American Eagle or
Apple Bottom. A bag that has TH for Tommy Hilfiger all
over it. A phone in a case that has a small circle on the back so the
person that sees you knows that the very expensive phone in that very
expensive case is an Apple product.
(Notice how everything has a logo or brand? Even the coffee cup)
Why does our society put so much value
on such necessary goods? That bitten apple on that phone increases
its value ten fold. And one of the main reasons that phone is bought
is because of the products name and logo. There are other, less
expensive phones out there that have more capabilities and are less
formal...but because everyone else has an iPhone you want it too.
What if our society removed the labels,
brand names, and logos from the purchased good? This would remove
much of the judgments people make prior to meeting someone, just
based on their outer appearance.
I tried to put my plan into action
(just for me) and was all set. My pockets were plain, I had no
embroidered logos or brand names on my tops, my shoes were
non-identifiable, I put a different case on my phone (yes, I have
that phone), took a brown paper bagged lunch, etc. I went
outside to turn my car on and realized I would have to cover up those
as well, so I taped a piece of paper on them. I then made a cup of
coffee to go and put in a plain travel mug, and went to grab my
backpack for the day. That's when I realized my bag had JanSport
Jon it, I was out of time to cover it up. So I left with the name
brand on my back pack exposed.
As I got to school, I pulled out the
bag in my car that had my laptop in it (a completely different bag)
and realized that my bag had all those tiny “TH”'s embroidered on
it and that my laptop had VAIO in big silver letters across
the front. Later on I bought a water, that had Dasani written
on it. No matter how hard I tried, I could not avoid labels and
logos.
Along with not being able to follow my
own plan, I found myself still judging those that displayed their
labels. Such as the jerk that cut me off on the highway because he
had a sporty BMW and I
was driving my tiny little Hyundai.
He cut me off because he was in a nicer car, a more expensive car,
and felt that he had the right to cut off a driver just because of
the brand of car he had. While this may have been presumptuous of me,
I still thought it...and then chastised myself for jumping to
conclusions and judging someone just on the type of car he drives.
Even though this
idea is not ground shaking or mind riveting, it is still a problem in
our society. The first step in diminishing our prejudices of any kind
(not just on what people have) is to acknowledge that there is
prejudice, and that you are a culprit.
If you catch
yourself making a quick judgment, then that is progress. Baby
steps...your not gonna change the world in one day.
"Low" by FloRida
Ashley, I think that this is a great idea. I also liked the fact that you didn't just talk the talk, you actually put your idea to use by trying it for yourself. But while I agree that this is a huge problem in our society, but How would you get the companies to stop putting the logos on their items. The logo is partially how they make their money, so unless they had some type of incentive for taking off the logo, it would be harder to get them to comply.
ReplyDeleteWow, way to try and live up to your own standards, Ashley. I'm looking at my immediate surroundings and thinking how long it would take me to do the same, even though I usually try to avoid things with obvious brand names! ;-)
ReplyDeleteOne question for you: what about things like college or sports team sweatshirts? Souvenir t-shirts from concerts or destinations? Would those fall into the same category? (and what on earth would those guys do who have their favorite team's logo tattooed on themselves somewhere??)