For brands, we often think of Apple, the Nike Swoosh, and
North Face, but do we ever think of people themselves as brands? When you’re a
celebrity or YouTube star, does there come a point where you become a brand to sell
yourself or your image? I want to explore how brands are themselves unique and
universally recognized: a symbol that jumps out but is easily latched onto. As
Einstein in her essay points out, intimacy is key to creating a sense of
community for different brands. Brands want to foster “shared
experiences, the development of myths, and the acting out of rituals” to gain a
relationship with their constituents (Einstein 92). Intimacy with a
higher power, whether that be God or celebrities in our culture, is
something that both global markets and world religions have sought to achieve.
Brands function as consumeristic icons:
they help identify not only the company, but the people themselves who want to
associate themselves with it.
Former Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter recently spoke at Hamilton
College and he was asked about how he felt about the media and his role in it. He gave a perplexing response: A brand is who you are inside, how you want to be, while your image is
what you want people to see you as or how they see you. It’s
intriguing how he sees a brand as being more authentic to his true identity.
Now, I don’t think it’s odd to think “how do people see
me?” I think evolutionarily, it's an innately human response to compare ourselves to others, as Laderman mentions. But do we often think of crafting our identity? In Generation Like, the film focuses on how people choose certain profile pictures
to project an image of themselves and what they like: what brands do they enjoy
and how can industries learn to target them? If we like and endorse certain
brands, we enter in a community that validates not only that product, but ourselves.
Through social media and communications with brands, we
enter into a feedback-loop with members of the community endorsing the product. I
buy mickey ear stickers and put them on my bedroom wall and I post Disney trailers on Facebook because I want people to know I love Disney. I know at the core they’re
animated films, but I have willingly bought into the myths they tell, and I
ritualistically watch their new movies because I am devoted to the brand. In
our culture, we walk around as walking advertisements for other brands to brand
ourselves. I want to be part of the Disney, Catholic, Amazon community because
it gives me the power and ability to craft my own brand.
The famous YouTube star, Miranda Sings, has
completely branded her personality. Her red lipstick, hair pins, tucked in
shirt and crazy voice and attitude are widely recognizable across college
campuses. This person branded herself as a crazy character that has gained a
cult-like following, and from this, we can see that you can brand yourself for
something you really aren’t. But as followers of Miranda, we
impersonate this impersonation. There’s a sense of community of those who
know her jokes and distinct voice.
I think there’s a distinction celebrities, companies, and
religions have between us followers, as much as we want to interact with them
and brand ourselves. These major conglomerates need a single picture, package,
et cetera so that a wide range of people can adapt it as their own. We, on the
other hand, can have many different brands be a part of us, which makes us
“unique” (or as unique as these markets lead us to believe.) We pick and choose
what brands we want on our billboard, consciously or not, and by doing so, try
to brand our “true” identities. As Doulas Atkin writes, these sacred and profane
brands “are being bound by the essential desires of
human nature, which seeks satisfaction wherever it can” (Einstein 90). We seek
satisfaction in verification, and sometimes, a Nike swoosh or Mickey ears verifies
we’re part of something simple and so much more.
