People walk around like billboards, sporting their favorite brands, as an unpaid advocate (and in fact, quite the opposite… they pay the brands to advertise for them. What a fantastic business model). Now, this might be a demonstration of the greatest and perhaps most influential brands in the world. You could simply sit on the sidewalk and tally the consistent brands that keep popping up to tally whats in or whats out. Or maybe even, whats coming.

Now - this is a super tangible demonstration of the power of brand. I’d like to take a minute to think about the gas station for a second. Its slightly scary, and mind blowing at the same time, that something we consume every single day (water), something necessary for survival, has been branded to the extreme. You start at the bottom of the cooler, towards the back of the gas station coolers, and you scan - off brand, your local water monopoly brand (I grew up with Arrowhead, then Poland Spring as I moved out east), the “luxuries” like Evian and Fiji, and many more.

This in my opinion, is the true power of brand. Some folks actually branded something that we need for survival. Sure, clothes are important for us to stay warm, but we wouldn’t actually die if we went 30 days without clothes. The fact that water is branded, speaks to the true power of marketing and advertisement.

What I say to this is, no thanks, I’ll stick to my beaten up Nalgene thats traveled the world with me. Boo to plastic bottles.

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