Brand happiness?

“From an early age, I have been taught that to be accepted, to be loveable, to be cool, one must have the right stuff. At junior school, I tried to make friends with the popular kids, only to be ridiculed for the lack of stripes on my trainers.”

Who would not dream of a life in brand happiness?

I now benefit and agree with the lesson learned as a kid; that I do not need something just because playground rules say a specific brand is required to belong. I even agreed as a kid, as my parents spend time explaining it to me. With parents working in advertising they had all the right tools to convince me that brands where just that, brands.

Am I better off for having learned this lesson at an early age? Maybe, but it took a huge chunk of happiness out of my childhood.

How far should we let our kids stay happily ignorant of the powers of the world?

Read the blog; Bonfire of the Brands