It is really difficult to draw out the extent to which one hangs onto a brand and then bounces to the other. For a long time I had beard in my mind that whoever becomes loyal to a specific brand does not change it ever. However, now that I have been out of my country for a while, I have started to think again about the gut belief that I have fostered for long.
Crocodile was my brand for T-shirts. Cats Eye was for shirts. I used to use Adidas body spray. My favourite footwear would include both Apex and Hush Puppies. My favourite fast food shop was Western Grill (Dhanmondi), and KFC (Gulshan). I had always loved Café Mango (Dhanmondi 31) and Escape from Shanghai (Dhanmondi 5) as my favourite restaurants. Toyota Allion was my favourite car (which we bought just before 2 months of my departure). Signature was my guitar. I used to wear Police glasses. I had a non-branded mp3 player. I had a clone PC and so on.
Interestingly all of those were not always met. I have used many non-branded clothing stuffs, gone to many a nameless fast food shops, eaten in faceless restaurants, ridden in many Toyota versions, played a number of guitars belonging to different brands, used this glass that glass and such every now and then. Nevertheless, I could always say those names (mentioned in the second para) whenever I was asked about brands I belong to.
Things are quite different now. I love ESPRIT while buying clothes. I still stick to Adidas body spray, I can't help! I love the fries of McDonald's but not the burgers. Literally speaking, the burgers of McDonald's are crap, believe me or not. For burgers, I admit, I love Oporto. Here, in Sydney, Hungry Jacks and KFC are full of shit, bullshit. Subway is ok to some extent. I love the salad of SumoSalad. I also love the Shushi train in Japanese restaurants. Now, my dream car is Audi R8. I also love Toyota Aurion and Jeep Wrangler. Gibson is my brand here. As I said I like Police, I still do wear this brand. I have an iPod which takes the pain of screaming into my ears in every spare time. And I have an Asus notebook.
Interestingly, again, now I cannot get me out of the brands that I have been loyal to. Every time I went to buy a T-shirt I went to ESPRIT. While eating brunch, I buy the burger from Oporto and eat it while I get my fries ready from McDonald's. I cannot get Audi out of my mind.
Strange enough! I can't get out of the circle of brands that I have become loyal to, anymore. Why? Foreign brands are more powerful? What makes a brand - a brand? How could a brand get you into its web so that you cannot get out?
I wish I could answer all of that!
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