Abandon
logos, be yourself
Get real. Who do you want to be? If you
answer anyone other than yourself, you have
a problem.
I can’t help but notice the silent epidemic
running rampant on this campus. I feel as
though I am trapped in some B-movie, horror
flick titled “Attack of the Brand Logo Gods.”
Every time I venture from the safety of
my car I am accosted by a stampede of corporate-logo
fans. It’s funny how brands flock together.
High class DKNY, Bebe, and Calvin Klein
drones sport their gear so everyone will
know they have money to waste on self-advertisement.
Hurley, Roxy or Volcom tell me “I’m in Southern
California now so I shop at overpriced surf
shops,” and, “I saw the coolest rock star
wearing this brand.”
Before I go on I would just like to make
one thing clear: I am not attacking logos
or designs in general. I am addressing the
practice of using a logo to define the type
of person you are or want to be. So please,
please don’t get your panties in a bunch.
Think for just one second before you pick
up that brand name with a huge logo as its
only redeeming, decorative quality. Are
you being paid to advertise for that company
or are you paying them?
Choosing a certain brand of clothing because
it is of good quality is one thing, but
the practice of conspicuously branding yourself
so others will know what type of person
you are is shallow.
As you walk around campus with a logo screaming
from the front of your shirt, remember you
look like a walking advertisement.
There
is nothing exclusive about that. You look
like just another logo in the crowd, another
sheep in the flock. I don’t mean to offend
you if that is the look you are going for.
Corporations sponsor the music that they
want their products to be associated with.
They basically want their products and logos
to be considered cool by a certain crowd.
With music it’s a little different. They
are going after the biggest group of consumers
in this society - its youth.
Don’t be so easily fooled. They are taking
all of our creations, packaging them up
with their seal of approval in the form
of a logo, and selling them back to us at
a profit! Being the kind of person you want
to be used to be free.
Wear and do your own thing. That’s the point.
You don’t need some corporation deciding
what type of clothing you should wear to
define the type of person you are.
The bottom line is you should never try
to be just like someone else. All of the
great people in history did things their
own way; that’s part of what made them great.
There’s nothing wrong with admiring other
people. But remember, they are just people.
Be and do your own thing. Don’t be fooled
by the confines of brand logos.
Tina Page is a journalism major at Cal
State Long Beach.
|
