I have been reading the book "No Logo" which is about multinational corporations and the hold they have on world markets. It is also about the exploitation of the poor. Production takes place in third world countries, while branding takes place in a highrise office in London.
Modern commerce is all about "branding" and for some obscure reason the "brand" has become more important than the "product".
The Marlborough "brand" is the cigarette you have to buy since it shows that you are a discriminating smoker, and a bit of a rough, tough cowboy on the side, all weather-beaten face, but kind of fit never-the-less, despite the fact that you have tons of black tar coating your lungs. People will buy brands rather than products... DG, Ben Sherman, Ecco, Versace, Burberry, Tag, Armani, Boss, Nike... you get the picture.
Then you have the Finnish company Bonk Business Inc. who take branding to the extreme. They make products that have no function at all. Machines that don't work, for example the Raba Hiff Quasar OQ-172 is a fully defunctioned machine incorporating leading edge technology. Raba Hiff® machines are designed as a presence - on the shop floor, in offices or any working area. Their true function is this presence, which has been proved to increase job satisfaction -leading to better work motivation and thus to greater profits.
The have invented a non-existant anchovy briquette called Bermuda Triangles that comes in a package like Toblerone. Their slogan is "try them... they will just disappear"
It would seem that Bonk Business Inc. is one serious wind up. They fashion themselves as "a multiglobal industrial giant, pioneering Third Millennium technologies such as LBH (Localised Black Holes), ADS (Advanced Disinformation Systems), Cosmic Therapy and Defunctioned Machinery."
What they are really saying is that brand is more important than product. I wonder how many art galleries have bought their useless machines, or how many people have asked for Bermuda Triangles in a shop, even though they are supposedly made out of anchovy paste.
Bonk someone today.
Get a job at Bonk
Bonk Business Inc. Strategies
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