Browsing: Activism

a strangely pleasurable experience?

So what’s in a name? Plenty, if all the time and money spent on market research and advertising is anything to go by. Manufacturers invest heavily in promoting brand loyalty. But what is it exactly ? According to leading experts, brand loyalty implies that consumers bind themselves to a product as a result of a deep-seated commitment. (Bloemer and Kasper 1.).

A deep-seated commitment?  Sounds serious.
Well, yes. For have you not heard it said…“Coffee just isn’t coffee unless it’s …” “No-one makes jaffa cakes like …” “Easter wouldn’t be Easter without …” “I wouldn’t use anything else on my face but …”?

It’s a commitment that is not just about authenticity of taste, but about a product that becomes the norm, a standard against which all others are measured and found wanting.

Let’s take tomato ketchup as an example.

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I posted my vote for you October 25, as one of more than a million Americans living abroad who voted in the Presidential election decided today in the early hours of the morning. Congratulations, we won! At my election party in Newcastle-upon-tyne, England, you had the united support of my British colleagues and my partner from Indiana, who also voted for you.

By any definition it was a record voter turnout, but an even bigger turnout could be counted at the parties and public gatherings like mine around the world, where the not-so-silent majority were rooting for you. True, you’ve won the vote of Americans, but the real landslide is that the world has voted for you. This is perhaps no more apparent than in the impoverished country of Kenya, where your relatives and supporters danced in the street to celebrate your victory – Kenya has even declared a national holiday in your honour.

People around the world feel you are part of them in some way be it a multiracial, multiethnic, or multinational dimension. Please make the most of the hopes and dreams of all of us who have voted for you and lead as President with the world’s collective interests in mind. For starters, America’s economy needs saving, but please don’t forget the critical need to expand Fair Trade with the poorest countries, including paying it forward to those same Kenyans who celebrate you. And you must challenge the world to end war, perhaps you could substitute a global green revolution in its place – I wouldn’t mind if we were all fighting for a more sustainable world.

Please do your best to make the dream a reality. We’re here to help.

and the winner is...

The trouble with arguing with myself is whilst I often win, I almost certainly lose too.
This morning’s argument was simple, bike or car.
The bike has much to recommend it; I’d arrive at work more alert and energised.  I’d have saved on the cost of fuel, both in terms of cash and environmental impact.  I’d have been able to smile at the folk at the bus stop without worrying about looking smug.  My heart would thank me in the coming years and I’d hopefully reduce the amount of fabric I’d someday be forced to consume.
The car however offers protection from the elements (and potentially from other, less conscientious, road users) and, until recently at least, some entertainment too.  I say until recently not because the car radio has malfunctioned, or been stolen, but simply because I’ve lost the will to tune in.  The constant cycle of credit crunch assessment rotated with outrage over licence payers’ money squandered on a poor excuse for comedy leaves me cold.

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