Monday, January 03, 2005

Are you a walking billboard?

When you see someone sporting a shirt with the manufacturer's name inscribed in bold letters across the chest, it's hard to ignore the irony. Here the apparel wearer is paying the company to promote its name, rather than vice versa. For the privilege of being a walking billboard, one forks over many times what one would normally pay for the same product. So next time you wear a pair of shoes with that logo, or a pair of pants with some large initials stitched on them, or a shirt with a brightly painted name, remember, you're inadvertently advertising the company. The word "advertise" comes to us from Latin advertere meaning "to turn toward" or "to pay attention". The word "inadvertently" derives from the same source. In other words, by not paying attention, we ARE paying attention.


[Anu Garg, A.Word.A.Day 3/2/2003]


Comments:
Very astute comment. Most people don't realise this at all. Rather, they pay to be associated with the brand, because it is perceived to be cool - coolness by association.
 
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