BRAND PLANNING
17
to a genetic gift no other animal on earth has completely divorced from social context.
– a by-product of an over-developed frontal With inequality surging and resources diminish-
lobe: imagination. ing rapidly, capitalism-at-all-costs may no longer
It was our imagination that came up with be a viable model – and it may fall to brands to
agriculture and the shift from peasant farming lead the way forward.
to large-scale capitalist farming. This generated
a rise in agricultural productivity that, in turn,
I
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THINk, THeRefoRe I SHoP
fuelled industrial development. The industrial
revolution gave birth to factories where prod-
A few years back, I went to Las Vegas to watch
ucts were mass-produced for the fi rst time
a boxing match. I stayed in the Bellagio Hotel,
and branding emerged as a way of establishing
an enormous, grotesque wedding cake of a
the ownership and manufacture of goods and
place. Directly across the Strip from
services – a language in the new international
the Bellagio stood Bally’s Casino & Resort,
culture of commerce. Markets emerged and
above which was an electronic billboard with
capitalism went into overdrive; as a result, we
a message ‘Shop The World’, followed by a
all became consumers.
series of brand logos advertising the stores
lurking inside the hotel complex, where you
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THe RISe of BRANDING could do just that.
A month later, I was walking through
Although brands can be traced all the way Britain’s own Mecca of consumerism, Selfridges,
back to bison paintings on cave walls during the January sales. Looking up from the
thousands of years ago, it was only when chaos of orange-faced girls spraying perfume
companies began mass-producing stuff and into the fl ight paths of innocent passers-by,
trying to sell it to people that the brand really I noticed a series of signs saying things like ‘I
came into its own as corporations replaced shop, therefore I am’. I shuddered in horror,
the local shopkeeper or craftsman. turned around and fl ed the store.
Advertising came to prominence around The point is that, to a large extent, our
the same time. Brand names were secondary insatiable appetite for stuff with logos on it is a
because the advertised products were often very new phenomenon – a century old, really,
unique and the goal was simply to commu- and something that has gone into warp speed
nicate what these new products offered. But only in the past 30 years or so. The explana-
as product ranges expanded, product parity tion for this hunger is simple, and it is rooted
became prolifi c and the role of branding and in sociology. Human nature is neither static nor
advertising changed signifi cantly. universal, but refl ects the social orders of the
Advertising began imbuing brands – and world around it. Throughout history,
products by default – with meaning. Com- dominant institutions have sought to recreate
modities became concepts, and the brand as us in their own image in order to establish
lifestyle was born. Advertising became the roles that support their own self-interest.
prince of pop culture, raising the standards by When the church ruled, we feared God and
trying harder, giving us the best a man can get, knelt at the altar for forgiveness. When feudal-
and the make-up of make-up artists. Impossible ism came about, we joined manors and worked
was nothing; we could taste the rainbow and the land. When democracy prevailed, we went
just do it, if only we were prepared to believe out and voted. And when the corporation
in the power of dreams. The future was bright. came to rule, we went shopping.
Weaving powerful stories charged with Brands have played a critical role in creat-
cultural meaning into products and services ing this new model of human nature, using nar-
turned the brand into the greatest success ratives charged with meaning around products
story of the 20th century – the biggest asset and services to tap into something fundamental
many corporations had. But all good things within all of us. We have within us an itch we
come to an end, and the recent economic can’t help but scratch, an ego that is constantly
meltdown may be a mere precursor to a much working to create our sense of self. our egos
bigger problem. economics has run riot, seek to defend and glorify us by separating us 
Left: Economist Noreena Hertz named the era of unregulated market dominance ‘Gucci Capitalism’
ADMAP FebruAry 2010
DE 16-18 Cordiner LAYOUT 2.indd 2 1/22/2010 14:00:16
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