CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 16 Made in America: Part I | Page 20

W W W. C R A F T BY U M H . C O M
J E R R Y
G N A G Y
WA XING ELOQUENT ON BRANDING
( AND TRUCK NUT S )
Hundreds of years ago, when I was growing up in the dust bowl in Western Kan-
sas, I was in my one room junior high schoolhouse, when the new kid came to
town. He was from the far off, and what I thought was the mythical, big city of
Atlanta, Georgia. I figured he was probably moving to escape General Sherman
and to take part in the Homestead Act.
Talking to my new big city friend, I realized a couple of oddities and cultural
differences. When we went to order a pop, he had no clue what we were talk-
ing about. Apparently, it was called a Coke where he’s from. When he asked for
tissue paper, I wondered if he was decorating his horse and buggy for the big
harvest parade. Nope, he wanted a Kleenex ® . On and on it went. He’d ask for
ChapStick ® ; I’d offer lip balm? I needed a Band-Aid ® ; he’d get me an adhesive
bandage. I’d write the word Q-tips ® on a Post-it ® note with a Sharpie ® and hang
it up with Scotch ® tape. He would…well, you get the idea. These shenanigans
could have been a great premise for a sitcom if TV had existed then, but instead,
it made me wonder how did we get to a point where brands have become larger
and more recognizable than products?
That word “branding” has become the battle cry of every business, big or small,
and we all recognize the importance of attaching meaning beyond mere physical
attributes to a product. The gig is up, so to speak, and we are more sensitized to
where businesses can tickle our pickles to get us, the consumers, to identify and
internalize a brand. Nowadays, with this fancy social media, any flunky with a
social science major can unabashedly call himself or herself a marketing guru.