Are you a marketing victim?

[Statius]

Do brand names mean anything to you? Do you believe they offer better value? Clearly in some cases that must be true; but is it always the case? If you buy brands, do you do so because you want people to know you have money? Clearly no one will probably admit to this, as it could paint them as a person of low self-esteem. But is that actually true? Do these things matter? Do you buy brand names (expensive brand names) and want people to know you buy brand names because of professional reasons? For example, you may work in high finance, and not having brand XXX suit (Zegna...is that a good brand?) would hurt your career. Does the title of this thread offend you?

It seems that as we become more prosperous (read: deeper in debt in most cases), 'fancy' brands are carrying less power to impress as more 'regular' people have access to them; indeed, it seems that exclusivity is now being found in obscurity. To have arrived is to have the object/shirt/watch that no one has heard of as opposed to the ones we've all heard of.

As for me and my house? I buy certain brands and admit to being swayed by marketing, despite the paradoxical belief that I'm smarter than that and don't give in to marketing.

[Janne]

Oh yes. We all are!

[Statius]

Oh yes. We all are!

But some don't mind. Others do. Some think it's fine. Some will maintain they are not, in fact, victims of marketing.

[Dakota2cSRT4]

Oh yes. We all are!

Bingo.

But some don't mind. Others do. Some think it's fine. Some that it's the reason our (western/North American) civilization is crap. Some will maintain they are not, in fact, victims of marketing.

Whether we like it or not, we all are victims of this to some extent. No, there are people who do not like it but it doesn't change the fact that they are...

[Mr.Kane]

Everyday. And where the hell is my wife!

[Chronopolis]

Do authors count as brands? If Yes, then I am swayed by names of individual creators - whatever the medium.

As for things, a resounding NO - except to gauge their performance reliability, as opposed to their "status" value.
A lot of brands you never heard of make perfectly fine, usable things.

So, to me, people who delight in spending gobs more to buy, for example, designer jeans (ripped), come off as insufferable benighted tools.

[AngryBaconGod]

So, to me, people who delight in spending gobs more to buy, for example, designer jeans (ripped), come off as insufferable benighted tools.

Or expensive watches?

[AngryBaconGod]

As far as clothes go, I'm more a victim of my wife. In that, since she is the one forced to be seen with me, I let her heavily influence the clothes I buy. Also, I have no taste. So it's a win/win.

[Chronopolis]

Or expensive watches?

Beyond a certain point, and for certain "kinds" of expensive watches, I'd have to say, Yes.
But why stop with watches?
Take wall to wall carpeting, example: Grey carpets cost more than puke green carpets. Same quality threads and stitching. Grey is NOT more costly to make. But they will market the grey to be more "luxurious" or whatever, when it is not "more luxurious" in any way.

They deliberately make puke green for the purpose of turning people off, so that people will pay more for the grey, just to avoid that shade of green.

In other words, you get "punished" with ugliness if you cannot or are not willing to pay more. This way of doing business is widespread, the watch industry, of course being one of the most egregious players, on par with the eyewear folks.

[Bolaberlim]

I'm a designer, I can tell you right now that everybody in a civilized territory is a marketing victim. If you live in... let's not name names, but in the middle of a war zone in a far off country, it's very likely that marketing means nothing to you, however, if you have a friend that raves about a ... let's say... machine gun, you'll want one. It's a form of marketing, albeit not what is being discussed here. That said, if I ask my students what kind of products they like, if they like mainstream brands, they will all answer that they like the stuff that nobody knows, the "alternative" stuff. EVERY SINGLE ONE. It's actually funny that among these kids, liking average normal stuff is being really "alternative", as opposed to what they think it is.
As for me, yes, I am a marketing victim. My camera has 12 Mp, although I don't need more than 6 for anything. I have several pairs of boots, shoes, etc..., most of them from brand names. I actually believe there is something to be gained from a brand name, some sort of unspoken guarantee that I'm not buying crap.
I don't apply this for everything, my jeans are jeans, I don't care the brand, if they fit, they're great.
Shoes, I'm more picky, I prefer extra quality, so I choose brands that I "believe" have that extra quality, although that extra quality may or my not be real.
My wallet is fake leather, I couldn't care less.
Belt, no brand name, but a solid cool looking leather belt from a big retailer.
My T-shirts, if it looks cool I buy them. I have no brands names in T-shirts, and the coolest ones I have were bought in street markets from "homemade" vintages.
Let's see... furniture, no brand names, shirts, no brand names either, jackets- same thing, cologne has a brand name but I chose it by scent, although I must admit that if I like the scent but not the brand it's unlikely I'll buy it. If it has no famous brand, then it's fine, but normally I buy a known brand.
Cars... who doesn't want a Porsche or a Ferrari?
Laundry detergent, no brand name, toothpaste, brand name.
Sunglasses- brand name.
Food- I buy what I like, if the no brand name fits my standards, then that's what I buy.
Chocolate- definitely brand name.
Home appliances, brand name for the most part, although TV and DVD player aren't.

That said, I'm as much a victim as the next guy, the things I don't buy brand names are probably because my level of involvement with the product is so low, that I couldn't care less.