Brand Loyalty

A conversation I cannot get out of my head is that about the "Q-Tip". I can sitting at my computer looking at shopping list I had begun to make earlier in the week to purchase from CVS. The list says the following

1) Q-Tips

2) Clean and Clear

3) Kleenex

4) Charmin

.....one will assume you get the point that I have shamefully realized that I am a person who has subscribed to the advertising of my up bringing. I wonder if I should be upset with myself that I have come, as my uncle says, "a label whore" or if I should just embrace it?

I began to wonder where my obsession for labels and my loyalty to brands started. I began to question my childhood. My parents have always been very smart shoppers looking for the best deals in very aspect of buying. From groceries, to clothes, to personal goods. I mean, we never suffered from a lack of quality in my life, but they always taught me the value of a dollar. So, I sort of kind of ruled them out.

I looked back to my introduction to the World Wide Web, as a fifth grader, when my parents gave me the privilege to log onto AOL. I remember once instance from that year of power, where I had spent three hours researching "J.Crew", "Ambercrombie", and "GAP", because I did not know that the brands were when I was that age and some girl made fun of me. I then remember that my mom and dad were very angry with me because at dinner, that same night, I went on and on about the clothes and the companies.

Which leads me to my next theory: product placement. I am a TV sucker, give me a remote control with TiVo or some kind of recording device and I am a happy camper. I am convinced that my life is based on bran loyalty because of the amount of television I have consumed in my life. It's actually sad, quite honestly. I think back to all of the moments I wanted something because it was on said television program or in insert-movie-title-here.

After we talked in depth about advertising in our last class, I became hyper aware of product placement. My favorite example is in last night's episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County "But You Can't Take It With You". The girls fly to San Francisco in order to spend time together and bond, or as I'd like to say, "learn to like each other". Around 20 minutes into the episode, all the product placement begins! From Virgin Airlines to the posh FIVE STAR Fleur Dely. And then I think, well, now I understand why I am looking at Virgin flights to L.A. an hour after the show.

I think I added the link in the entry...but if not, here it is on hulu...AGAIN more advertising! http://www.hulu.com/watch/127397/the-real-housewives-of-orange-county-you-can-dish-it-but-you-cant-take-it

So now I question, will I always just be a consumer or will I ever be able to separate myself into a smart critic who can sort through the muck?