Above the Influence

Branding is really affecting all ages. The common phrase that comes to mind is “cradle to grave.” Advertising companies are in the business of pushing a product in order to make money. They start by doing brand loyalty. By targeting younger children they are set for life with a steady income of consumers or that’s the ideology behind it. When we were younger, it was always about the next beanie baby we were going to get, tomagotchis, Limited Too Clothing so name a few. But branding and labels don’t just affect younger generations.

It affects college generations too. If you walk around the Umass Campus or any other campus i’m assuming, you can find a handful of people wearing black leggings, ugg boots, and a black northface jacket. That is just a typical outfit choice of many college students. But of course there are generic brands of Uggs and Northface but those are not the ones we want. We have to have the Northface or else we don’t get it. But are people who don’t have these items not considered cool? Or less trendy? Of course everyone desires to be trendy but when it comes down to it, why do we need the Northface jacket and the generic brand unacceptable? If you don’t have these many feel left out and strive to acquire these products. Brands have become basically a status symbol in today’s society. If you have coach bags or ugg boots or true relgion jeans you are considered to be wealthy.

But what suffers i feel like is individuality. If everything is wearing the same thing, there is no chance for individuality except for the color you choose.