My contempt towards a brand is directly proportional to how often they interrupt my playlists.
My late father was the one who taught me to be cynical about advertising, for all that putting up ads was literally his whole job. He taught me from a very young age that advertising is expensive, and they tack that cost onto the price. That if something is heavily advertised, you can count on the fact that there’s an identical product out there, usually even manufactured in the same factory, that’s cheaper because they don’t spend all that money on advertising.
A German friend walked me through Lidl, turning over items to show the factories where the items were manufactured and what expensive brands they correspond to, we did taste tests on some of the more pricey food things later and they were the same product. learning about food manufacturing was a hobby for her.
European glasses and sunglasses are made in the same Italian factories that make the luxury ones, they have the same quality control and warranty. You are paying €100 for a logo.
Some things cost more because they are actually made with better quality materials and where the workers are properly compensated, others are the same product as the off brand version with the brand name markup. It takes a lifetime to learn the intricacies which is why consumer advocacy associations and legal protection by (truly) independent agencies is crucial.
The process is actually super interesting. Even though, for example, Fox’s, Lidl and M&S might all get their family choice box of chocolate biscuits made at the same factory, and may even contain the same biscuits, they won’t necessarily use the same ingredients. Fox’s may use a chocolate with a slightly higher proportion of cocoa solids, or M&S might have slightly more raisins, or whatever. The differences are small but, regrettably, often noticeable.
