If there were five words to sum up the post-burning feeling in the Boorman household, they would be: numb, exhausted, quiet, bare and calm. No phones going off, no TV drone in the background, no piles of stuff clogging up the corners of rooms. There is perspective and clarity! Unfortunately, there is also minimal communication, even less entertainment and absolutely no SunPat crunchy peanut butter. My drain blocked this morning, and I'm wondering what to use instead of Mr Muscle.
In these early stages, the things I miss the most are Extra chewing gum, Evian water (or any bottled water when your caught thirsty in the street), The Simpsons, Marlboro Menthol cigarettes, and my Orange Treo phone. Stuff like chewing gum and water cost so little, that they don't appear to have much value, but when they are gone, you realise how much comfort they bring. Still, life goes on.
I'll be keeping this blog going until the book is out next year, but mostly as a resource page for non branded alternatives plus news and views surrounding advertising etc. If I write too much of my diary here, Google/ Blogger will claim ownership when I publish and screw me for the little cash I'll be making.
A quote from last week's Guardian article on the withering value of the FCUK brand…. basically, when the brand is weakened and the ads aren't so persuasive, people start to notice that the product is, well, a bit shit.
Rita Clifton, chairman of brand consultancy Interbrand: 'As the [FCUK] joke wore thin, it no longer had that type of emotional hold over consumers and when the emotional hold becomes weaker of course things like product inadequacy or lack of perceived value, all these things come into play'.
Guardian 13.09.06
14 Comments:
Hi Neil,
You can use caustic soda on your sink but do be careful! Our silly landlord used that, and then added Mr Muscle (does he not know anything about chemicals?!) - result: We now have a blackened sink where the mixture burnt into the stainless steel. Anyway, one product at a time should work! (And make sure the kitchen is well ventilated)
Caustic soda? that sounds hardcore. Actually, someone showed me a consumer report about Mr Muscle, saying that shoving a stick down the drain would be more useful.
While we're on the subkect of cleaning products, is it true that the guy from the Cillit Bang ads is just an actor, and not the inventor? I heard a rumour and felt completely hoodwinked. Though I guess everyone knows there is no Mr Kipling, and the bloke off Brush Strokes doesn't own Flash... but it is still quite devious! Like those Dolmio sauce ads that bang on about Italian home cooking, before a small banner flashes up to say 'Made in Hull'.
Neil,
My girlfriend went for a job at Rekitt Benkisser (sic?) a while ago and met the mastermind of the Cillit Bang ads.
Not only is 'Barrie Scott' an actor; that's not even his real name!
Apparently he often has people walking up to him in the street shouting (in a Barrie Scott voice) 'HI, YOU'RE BARRIE SCOTT, AND THIS IS NEW CILLIT BANG!!'
Ah, the cruel truth of advertising.
The comment about fcuk from Rita Clifton is a fair one. If you make crappy products, then there's less chance of your company being successful.
But what if a company makes a product that's really good - well-made, useful, sustainable and affordable.
Is that company then allowed to have a brand to help sell their product? Do they become a brand anyway, by virtue of their company's name being associated with the product? I'd be really interested to hear your answer.
Hello
all through this project, I have asserted that , contrary to anti capitalist rantings about the evils of branding, there is no 'inherent evil' in branded consumerism. rather, I take issue with the manufacturing of value, desire and consent through emotional branding; that is the manipulation of subconscious emotions through advertising and the status anxiety it creates in our communities. It's a difficult argument to encapsulate in a small post here, so i'll stop, and suggest you look at the book when its out.
Put it this way, if every advert was as honest as Ronseal's ('Does exactly what it says on the tin') I would be a happy bunny.
Hello Neil,
I think what your doing is brave, and for alot of people impossible to comprehend why and how you are even living. But I knows it possible, I guess you doing what your doing, is going to be living proof that life is still live'able when you have so called 'nothing'. What are left wearing? do you have a picture blog as well?
Good Luck
Noreen Khan (I dont know if you remeber me, but I work in selfridges, brand label central!!!)
Hello Neil,
I think what your doing is brave, and for alot of people impossible to comprehend why and how you are even living. But I knows it possible, I guess you doing what your doing, is going to be living proof that life is still live'able when you have so called 'nothing'. What are you left wearing? do you have a picture blog as well?
Good Luck
Noreen Khan (I dont know if you remeber me, but I work in selfridges, brand label central!!!)
Pah! FCUK was only kewl to fools.
I think you are an embarassment. I first heard of your little quest to mis-guide consumers after reading another blog that mentions you. You are just another hippie with too little knowledge of the world and business (not to mention consumption). I agree there are bad brands, but convincing people to go "brandless" is not only unrealistic and impossible, but far worse than the other option. I feel sorry for the idiots who read this and feel enlightened.
neil,
im here in egham. when do you want to produce your book? i want to buy it? any brand there???
Neil,
i want to buy your book. im in london . so you publish with any brand???
One less gum chewer in the world is a good thing.
One less gum chewer in the world is a good thing.
challenge:
are there unbranded condoms?
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