the wastelands

but I do." These could be the words of someone who exhibits brand loyalty. It could be to Coca-Cola, Heinz, Reebok or Mercedes. Branded goods are worth billions and in an average day, we see 3000 advertising messages. Kevin Roberts, worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi says...

"For great brands to survive, they must create loyalty beyond reason. The secret is the use of mystery, sensuality and intimacy... the power to create long term emotional connections with consumers."

I know that I was mysteriously "attached" to Sainsburys which I tracked down to a feeling of nostalgia (my dad shopped there and there were no Sainsbury stores "Up North"), a perception of quality and feeling comfortable with the brand.

I now shop at Waitrose which isn't through loyalty but more convenience as it is across the road but we have to be wary of the power of brands. Neil Boorman realised that he was living a branded life and has sworn to burn it all in order to return to a simpler, more "true" way of living. Although I applaud ignoring brands, I (as many other on the BBC website have verbalised) would rather he donate the items to charity. He also mentions a Habitat sofa- now would you describe that as a branded item? The other thing that makes me questions his motives are the fact that I followed from the BBC link to his blog and found, surprise, suprise, that he has a book deal. Even so, with brand conscious teenagers around me for a lot of time, it is interesting to take stock of the pull that branding and advertising has on you.