Conscious... Brand Conscious...

I went out with mummy to a famous mall in Dubai. Guys and Girls in their early teens were roaming around the big stores and showrooms. Levis jeans, Tissot watch, Plush Revlon lip-glow, Channel fashion accessories & toiletries, Reebok shoes and a sliding Nokia mobile… it's a bit too much for just a stroll. I said - "Mummy, that’s the trend… if you don’t have it… u are not happening!!!"

On my way back I was thinking about my school days. We at school were quite away from all this… preferring locally stitched shirt and pant, adorning the feet with a pair of Bata. I still recall that conversation that Pappa had with the tailor… “Size thoda bada rakhna” so that I could wear the dress for another 2 plus years… Shoes were stitched; re-stitched and re-soled until and unless there was no option other than buying a new pair. Girls used to wear salwar-kurta or skirt. Famous brand names in fabric which I can recall were Raymonds, Vimal, Mayur…

Sweaters had their own story… hand-woven by mummy over a platter of home made namkeens with chai and biscuits… clinging knit-sticks while basking in the sun with other aunties… telling ten times to each other that the oon she is using for the sweater, is of woolmark and not cashmere (have I spelled it right? Lolz…) The monkey caps, hand gloves and mufflers came from re-aligned oon of old sweaters; with all possible tired reckless color combinations, just to make it complete from all leftovers… stored in a cardboard Raymonds oon box… Today, I can’t see anyone wearing a hand-knit sweater. Whose got the time to knit and what will my friends say if I wear that shoddy looking dress? Debenhams, Levis, Park Avenue… that’s the order of the day and is solely worn for attention. Maybe, the brands I wear reflect, how hot my pockets are!!!

Cosmetics and Personal Care products too have a strong and successful branding sector. I remember those bath soaps, facial creams, powders, hair oil products which were extensively advertised in the weekly magazines like Sarita, Vanita, Grah-shobha etc… The only change I see today is the hybridization of local products with international and highly expensive brands. You can see sales girls standing at the kiosks in big malls handing sprayed strips of perfume of your choice to attract you with the last try!!!

Electronics have a different story… a lot of things have been invented which we literally only dreamt of. A Crown or Texla TV was enough, but now we do not talk anything less than Sony, Samsung or Hitachi… Not to forget the mobiles marketing, exploiting the brandishing behavior of the human cult to the max.

Why do we prefer brands? What is the psyche behind this? Is it to stick to better performing products which are long lasting and provide better after-sales service or just for status symbol; image building and show-off?