The Power of a Tag
The North Face, Patagonia, Colombia. All outwear clothing brands familiar to us in the United States, the list of brands could go on but i'll stop there to save you. Are the products these brands are producing that different? In my opinion, no. The difference lies, along with other things, within the ethos of the company. The jackets and outdoor wear these brands are exporting are very similar and equivalent in quality. However, the company's meaning systems are so different they carry so many associations and stereotypes. If you are within the ages of 40 and 60 you will most likely wear Colombia. Within the ages of 30 and 40 the North Face and the younger than 30 will be most attracted to Patagonia. Of course, these reality assumptions are based off of my own experiences and the limited data I have been exposed to, so their accuracy is open for discussion but that is beside the point. The power of the brands logo itself and the advertising these brands put out into the world have so much influence. This includes what groups of people choose the brand for themselves. They are all trends that come and go. For example, vintage Patagonia jackets from the antique market are not hard to come buy because so many have been produced, yet they were not as highly sought by in the past. The trend nearly
5 years ago was based on the North Face, as they dominated the industry. Subjectively, Patagonia now takes the lead. Is this based on the advertising? I personally think that a lot of it, because it is a trend, is based on the bandwagon fallacy and the brands evoke the need for affiliation through the people that wear their product. When these jackets are seen everywhere worn by many classmates, one feels they want one too. They feel inclined to match and that in order to fit in, they must be like everyone else. These brands have little differences but somehow the labels matter so much to some people in this world. I believe this is based on the connotations we hold with the brand. This connotation is often shaped by the brand through advertisement.
The North Face, Patagonia, Colombia. All outwear clothing brands familiar to us in the United States, the list of brands could go on but i'll stop there to save you. Are the products these brands are producing that different? In my opinion, no. The difference lies, along with other things, within the ethos of the company. The jackets and outdoor wear these brands are exporting are very similar and equivalent in quality. However, the company's meaning systems are so different they carry so many associations and stereotypes. If you are within the ages of 40 and 60 you will most likely wear Colombia. Within the ages of 30 and 40 the North Face and the younger than 30 will be most attracted to Patagonia. Of course, these reality assumptions are based off of my own experiences and the limited data I have been exposed to, so their accuracy is open for discussion but that is beside the point. The power of the brands logo itself and the advertising these brands put out into the world have so much influence. This includes what groups of people choose the brand for themselves. They are all trends that come and go. For example, vintage Patagonia jackets from the antique market are not hard to come buy because so many have been produced, yet they were not as highly sought by in the past. The trend nearly
5 years ago was based on the North Face, as they dominated the industry. Subjectively, Patagonia now takes the lead. Is this based on the advertising? I personally think that a lot of it, because it is a trend, is based on the bandwagon fallacy and the brands evoke the need for affiliation through the people that wear their product. When these jackets are seen everywhere worn by many classmates, one feels they want one too. They feel inclined to match and that in order to fit in, they must be like everyone else. These brands have little differences but somehow the labels matter so much to some people in this world. I believe this is based on the connotations we hold with the brand. This connotation is often shaped by the brand through advertisement. 
I definitely agree! I have seen a lot of students at school are buying Patagonia because they assume it is better just because it is more popular. There is a weird cycle where the more people that buy it, the more people want to have their own. When thinking about these brands, we usually do not consider the brand of the quality first. We simply only care about the logo that appears on our jacket.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your article because I am able to see this around school and throughout my daily life. I think it's interesting that you brought up the ad techniques and connected it to your article. This article is also very unique and I enjoyed reading it because I've never thought about this issue before.
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