This may be slightly daft-ish, but is't an issue none-the-less.

I ventured out of my subterrainial lair to get some breakfast (I didn't sleep a wink last night) and as I went into the freezer it occured to me: When I was young, I had to eat those generic waffles while my little sister gets to eat Eggos. Retrospectively, they taste about the same. They're waffles. Also growing up, we ate cereals in those big bags while Gabrielle gets Scooby-Doo and SpongeBob cereals. If given the choice, I'd rather a Sam's Choice soda for a quarter instead of a Coke or Pepsi for a buck or sometimes a buck and a quarter. They taste the same, so why not? What's the big deal with all of these name brands? Why are they such big sellers? Why do people buy based on name rather than price or quality? What's the difference between Grocery World's generic cola and Mr. Snaffelburger Cola (sorry, I just had to)? Is there a difference or are we just paying more for the name on the box?

This definately sounds like a Mr. Snaffelburger conspiracy.

It's all just a marketing ploy. The foods/clothes/etc often have attractive boxing and advertising. The companies that make the generic brands often times, believe it or not, come from coke a cola or the scooby doo name brand companies. The difference?: the just don't slap on the sparkly packaging.

For kids, it's cartoons that the companies try to sell. The cartoons tend to spark the child's imagination and there's some secret hope that scooby really will pop out of that box. As for adults, they put slinky women or well cut men. They promise that their cereal is the best and will help them to loose weight or get fit.

we're just stupid enough to fall for those gimmicks.

Except I'm a cheap-ass bastard, which you'll learn when you come to visit.

There are only a handful of brand-named products I'm into, mainly cereals but that's only because I haven't found anything comparable. Other than that, I buy Food Lion and Wal*Mart brand everything.

Also here in the south, there's this soda company called Ritz that makes kick-ass sodas of all flavors. I don't care what anyone says, no Coca-Cola can measure up to a bottle of Ritz tropical soda and it's cheaper.

food lion??

And I love walmart, I'll buy anything there but shoes and jeans. I've had bad luck there with those. Except my favorite pair of jeans, and my only pair, come from walmart. I just got lucky that time. All the others I've tried on their fit really oddly...

Its a combination of two things, firstly named brands have prettier lables, and whatever you say, if something has a pretty label it's going to be eye catching and make you want it (we're all magpies like that) secondly, I think we're used to things costing a certain amount, if its cheaper, chances are we're less likely to buy it because there might be something wrong with it, I happen to think cheaper brands of coke taste like piss....then again i think pepsi and virgin cola taste like piss in comparison to coca cola so there! *sticks out tounge*
As with food, i'm definately a sucker for named brands (or i'm just a snob like that) I buy branstons pickle, hellmans mayonaise and heinz baked bean/ketchup. I rarely buy something from the value/economy lines...yeah, i'm a snob

Everyone in my family has to have hellmans light --- we can't stand anything else -- especailly miracle whip.

pfft i say to your light mayonaises and semi skimmed milk! cavemen didn't have all that!!

*entertains self with images of cavemen dipping their food in a large jar of mayonaise*

My, we're a cynical bunch.

Actual brand Coca-Cola tastes far better than the crappy generic supermarket kind.

Dr. Marten boots are better (as a general rule) than the imitators.

Generally, in my experience, name brands are higher-quality goods than generic. Of course, it's sometimes a matter of opinion, but I think the rule holds most of the time.

Always Coca-Cola

I think it depends, really. I won't pay whatever it is that designer clothes cost these days just because they're a "name brand" but I also won't refuse to buy something just because it's some well-known brand. A lot of people seem to be morally opposed to name brands for some reason, and that strikes me as a bit stupid. I'd rather get the best quality for the best price, whether that means buying a name brand or an unknown brand. Doesn't make much of a difference to me.

A lot of people criticise clothing brands because they (apparently) just slap a logo on and triple the price. While that's sometimes true (and there are legitimate criticisms such as sweatshop labour - I won't buy Gap because of that), a lot of the time name brand clothing is of superior craftsmanship and design. Giorgio Armani, for instance - it's not just because it says "Armani", it's because those are some really nice clothes.

On the whole, I agree with antagony - I'll buy whatever I think's best, whether it's name brand or not.

I think name brands give off a false sense of quality. I really hate clothes brands. Just because some rich guy put a logo on it does not mean it will last longer than a regular piece of clothing. Now, I do have a name brand shirt... because I thought it was pretty. But for $36, it's only gonna be a one time thing.

Ditto. I don't really care about name brands..just quality. If something is cheaper than name brand and I've never tried it (talking food here), I'll give it a try. It is cheap, after all.

I like Safeway Select food a lot of the time, including the soda. But the cola just doesn't taste...right. I prefer Pepsi. Bleeghh @ Coke. Cola is one of the more difficult things to do, I guess. All of their other sodas taste fine to me. Oh, and the Safeway Select french fries are nothing compared to the OreIda brand. Other than that...everything else I've tried has all pretty much been the same, so I buy the cheaper stuff. That's just smarter. Why waste money if it's the same? There are a lot of instances where it isn't the same, however, and then I buy the name brand stuff.

I've found with a lot of clothes, there is a difference there. Much more so than with food. The only thing I'm not really picky about is jeans. I wear guy's jeans, and they're almost always cheaper than women's jeans no matter where you go. I don't see why. Ugh, I refuse to shop at Old Navy though, simply because I HATE their commercials with the fire of a thousand suns...lol.

This is slightly spammy...but...Hellman's mayo...that's just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It's BEST FOODS! Well, west of the Rockies, it is. Which means it's correct because everything we do is obviously right. I mean, come on, "Bring out the Hellman's and bring out the best?" No. "Bring out the Best Foods and bring out the best" sounds so much better.

I'm not really bothered what it is as long as I like it. I am a bit of a snob and don't even try own brands but usually because I know what I like and usually it's branded. *shrug*

Although, Baked Beans are different. You'll usually find that own brand beans are really nasty - generally tasting sweet. Gotta' go with Heinz all the way there.

Nyooooo! Own brand beans are great, the Heinz ones taste like peas!

Erm,it depends on the product, sometimes I prefer own brands (like the beans thing) but some things (like potato waffles) arent as good in own brand varietys (own brand waffles ore too dry, own brand dried mashed potato is horrible and thin, Smash dired mashed potato is lovely)

I like peas...

Im not denying peas are great, they are, but when I buy beans I want beans

I snort and Guffaw at your so called Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Give me Rootbeer, any kind will do, or Mountain Dew...ANY day.

Name brands don't matter to me I just some stuff just tastes better than others...

The only time Name brands matter is when people start judging me on what I buy...like the Tripp clothing line--all I have is Tripp, and just because of what it is, I get ridiculed.

Other than that it dosen't really matter....and...Best Foods All the way!

Actaully, I quite like the idea of 'Mystery Food' - you could have a big barrel in the supermarket with unlabelled cans in and you just take your pick. A surprise in every one!!!

Knowing my luck--and the people that I know that work at the store I shop at, I'd find myself gripping a penis ---not the kind of surprise i want...

Hmm, does anyone know if there is such a thing as own brand Dr Pepper...even the diet Dr Pepper tastes totally different so it could be interesting to see what own brand versions taste like

I've no idea what own brand is...I'm assuming it's the Brit equivalent of generic.

If so, we have variations of it here. One is Dr. Skipper...which is a Safeway Select version of it...and only sort of tastes similar to Dr. Pepper. That's fine though, cause I don't like Dr. Pepper OR Dr. Skipper..lol.

Yeah, own-brand is the supermarkets' version of popular products. They're usually cheaper, and quite often inferior in taste.

Clothing is an interesting category. Right now I'm wearing a random gray tee shirt and some jeans I got at either Gay Mart or Wally World (inside jokes). When it comes to tee shirts, of which I have many, I buy shirts for their appearence, not the name brand or even the characters on them (like SpongeBob or any other pop culture characters). I see so many people wearing stuff costing three or more times what it's worth because it has Fat Albert or the Nike swoosh on it. To a cheap bastard like me, it screams "waste of money."


Holy hell, kids. Get the camera. Candice and I are about to agree on something. I too abhor Old Navy with a passion. Not only are commercials completely retarded but their clothing sucks and is way too costly for its value (to this cheap bastard, of course). Besides, why the hell would I want clothes that say a stores name on them when I can get more bargain hunting, thrift store shopping and hitting various tee shirts shops (God I love those)

Semi random thought: My older sister tried to take me shopping at Old Navy. She said that there's no way I can get chicks with my beautiful haggardness. Then I realized she was talking about chicks like her and I'd gladly get more haggard-looking than start dating chicks like her.

Exactly, but on the other hand I had this friend who went to American Eagal and bought this shirt. It was cute, it was a half back and a halter. I've seen knock offs of those all around, but regardless it was cute. Cute and forty dollars. Forty dollars for three quarters of a shirt. Holy hell.


This is why I like Marshall's and TJ max -- you can go there and get name brand stuff for outlet mall prices. There's nothing really wrong with the clothes, in most cases there the left overs from other stores that were getting new shipments of designs in.

*edit* while I have found other places for jeans I personally think that Learner's NY jeans are the best. Then Rue 21 just because they're just so cheap but cute and stylish at the same time. I'm a bargan hunter, name brands for cheap prices. Sue me.

Brand name goods are just an extension of badge prestige. In certain cases there's a definite increase in quality (nobody does cornflakes as well as Kellogg's, for example) but I'd say that normally there's little to no difference. In fact, in some instances the branded goods are of lesser quality than some generic products and merely use the name recognition to sell the product. Like Heinz beans. Sorry, I don't like them very much, they're too hard...

This is a bit off topic, but...

Does anyone think that non-Brand name goods would sell better if they weren't placed in the optimum positions on store shelves?

Companies pay a good amount of money for supermarkets and the like to place their products at the shelf which corresponds to the approximate eye height of their target consumers. Kids cereals where kids are most likely to see them, and the like.

Obviously, stores aren't perfectly exact in this, but hey, you never see generic brand foods in the middle shelves; they're always at the bottom.

Or do stores not do this, and I'm talking out of my ass...?

Sincerely and Respectfully,

David Carlson

Some stores do that, Ikemook. Or, they used to, anyway. But I've been noticing a trend towards them not doing that anymore. Safeway, Albertson's, and Rite Aid all place their own generic brand items right next to their brand name equivalents on the shelves. Safeway's price tags even say on their Safeway Select stuff "Compare to national brand and save!"....and you can look at the brand name stuff right next to it and see how much more it is.

I've noticed a lot of stores doing that. Eckerd and Wally World do that all the time. I haen't been to the grocery store in a while, but I'll see if Food Lion, Publix or Winn Dixie do that.

I LOVE H&M! that store.......its my life. barely anything ever has brand names on it, and they have tons of stuff, and its all really cheap. also TJ maxx is amazing. i love kohls too. i got the BEST dollhouse jeans for $13 there. my friend has the same ones. she got them in like.......denmark. for $65! HA! i loooooove dollhouse, i must say.

as for armani-amazing dress clothes but have any of you heard of armani jeans? its basically tee shirts of armani exchange. yes, they are very stylish and well designed. but anyone who would pay $30 for a t-shirt just because it says A|X on the front of it (a lot of them without any design even!) makes me want to cry. i know a kid who only wears armani exchange. actually, i know a lot of kids who do that. anyway, he does look QUITE metro, and he does have nice clothes. and he is stylin. but he also wears $30 tshirts in gym class. that is kind of sick. isnt it? you know what i wear in gym class? one of my white my hanes (!yeah baby!) t-shirts from the supermarket, the ones that come in 3 packs which cost $5. but anyways, the a|x kids as they are commonly reffered to, are basically a gang. except they dont kill people. but remember, this is in the nice part of NY, and were talking about kids aged 14-17. they are all loaded, they all only wear armani exchange, have those new fangled cell phones which play rap on them, which i must mention they blast wherever they go, and then they load into their sports cars and blast 50 cent with their nasty skinny hos. i was gonna say girlfriends, but any girl who has done anything with one of them has done anything with all of them. and they are all anorexic. the think people who arent twigs are fat. they think im a cow. i feel bad for the girls who actually are overweight! they beat people up for accidentally brushing by them when they pass by them. oh and they are all related to eachother somehow. its f***in weird. ok yeah just thought i would share that with you people.......

um for food i dont really care but i love chex. and i will only drink tazo chai tea. and im defintily partial to starbucks, for ice cream and coffee. and also ben and jerrys and coldstones for ice cream. ok. sorry i feel like a huge spammer.........

Bleh.. when it comes to food.. I always go name brand, always. Unless it's soda. with clothes it's a different story.. I don't care if anyone sees the label or not, it's how it fits. Some clothing labels I'm loyal to, like gap and old navy, just because they make pants for the little waist, big butt, and short legs (it's actually really hard to find pants to fit those three things all in one.) omg, and brand name cigarettes... I cannot stand generic cigarettes. But, sometimes things are brand name for a reason. And Pepsi wasn't big in the U.S. for a while because they supported the NAACP. They went abroad and came back strong enough to rival coke. And you should never go cheap with toothpaste. Gah, but one thing that bugs the hell out of me is when women buy cotton panties from Victory Secrets for like.. $40. it just... boggles my mind.

i get my VS cotton panties for $2 a pop!

One brand loyalty I'll admit to following is shoes. I stick to skate shoes because they're comfortable and wide and I have fat feet. My friends and I stick usually to DCs and Circas because they're high quality. I had some Osirises and they got torn to hell, so we stray from those. It's like that in skateboarding since it's all based on quality. Element boards snap easily. Hook-Ups boards have no pop. Alien Workshop borads are bendy, but of good quality. Black Label boards are heavy but tough. Boards from BlankDecks.com are usually quality boards but, obviously, lack graphics. Those are common knowledge in the industry and those are just boards. I don't skate, but I can understand the hows and whys of brand loyalty in skating.

Meh. Tis our glorious capitallist dream at its most cynical (ok, so it gets a hell of a lot more cynical than this...). Learn to appreciate its beauty.

Come to the rich suburbs of chicago. It's even worse.

I only go brand name for food. Because generic is usually crappier. Clothing doesn't matter.

Simple: theres a difference between paying for quality, and paying for a acceptance. eg brand lable clothes with big ass logos. (I'm not gonna go further.)

Heh. On the subject of clothes: I have ONE "brand name" article of clothing (a blue shirt from Abercrombie that my aunt got for me for Christmas... that's a story to its own.) However, I will NOT substitute some of my foods for lesser knowns. Case(s) in point: Mountain Dew, Progresso Soups, and Coke or Pepsi (I like both, depending on my mood.) But really, I'll pay for a little more for higher quality.

But there are also other name brands that people come to trust due to the fact that they put out consistently good products. Examples: Trojan, Nintendo, Sony, Ford, John Deere. The list goes on, really. I'm going to go with South Park here (yeah it's dumb, but it's relevant) by saying that big names got that way by making good products. They made high quality stuff, so the public ate it up. The company thus expanded. People bitch and moan about the evils of large corporations, but damnit, Walmart deserves its status, Pepsi (or Tri-whatever foods) is the world leader for a reason, McDonalds earned its status. That's not satanism, baby. That's capitalism.

Mike, I do believe this is the first time I fully agree with you about something. Except about Ford. To hell with Ford, all hail Honda!

People can complain about big business (even I do sometimes, though I more complain about their lack of moral and evil scheming) but the truth is, big business got there for a reason (manipulation and advertising). I buy name brand food, especially soda and peanut butter, because it tastes better and I trust it. Some cereals taste better the more generic they are, though.

I don't buy name brand clothes, however. I decided when I was 11 that I didn't want to sport some company's name on my chest, or the right ass cheek of my jeans. So I buy shirts with no words on them, no funny phrases, no pictures. Maybe the occasional flower (the exception being the day when I finally but something from Mata). All my jeans come from some basement company, my lovely hoodie (my pride and joy) is from Walmart. I could've gotten it at Macy's for $60 bucks, but I decided to go for the $10 one with no Nike Swish on the front. I do wear boots as opposed to shoes, and I want my boots to be quality, so I buy Docs. End of discussion. But boots and food are the only name brands I will buy. Doin' my best to fight the Man.

I'm really fussy about jeans. They have to be cut just right for my body shape (hipster waist, zip fly, flared or boot cut). I generally find that the named brands are always a better fit. The best being Deisel, Levi and Quiksilver - all of which I can assure you cost a bomb purely because it has a tag on it but really do fit me beautifully.

However, I did find a fantastic pair of jeans from La Redoute which a perfect cut and only £25. Sods law being as it is - they have discontinued the jeans.

*coughclassactionlawsuitsexdiscrimantioncough*

If it's food, the name brands that I'm used to taste better. And if I buy Pop-Tarts, why settle for crappy ones because they're cheaper? With food, if it's not name brand, the quality dips a little. At least at the grocery stores I go to.

See, if one worries about quality among brand and generic names, one should just try shopping around. "I'll try Pop Tarts this week, Toaster Strudels next week and Winn Dixie toaster pastries the week after." Then you'll realize which brand has what going for it. Toaster Strudels may not have the same selection as Pop Tarts or generic, but may have options you'd prefer over the other two. Pop Tarts may taste better uncooked but their cinnamon and sugar may not be as good as the generic ones. One can't just guess at which is better. For me, they're usually the same so I get generic.

I work at Wal-Mart, and considering at least 65% of the managers at my store are women, I have this to say about it: *coughbullshitcough*

Quite honestly, I see no evidence that it's a widespread practice or policy at Wal-Mart. Though I wouldn't be surprised if stores in smaller, more conservative communities tend to discriminate, I don't think this is quite worth the "Class Action Lawsuit" status, considering that I've worked for companies that treat their employees a lot worse. Some people just got together and decided to go after Corperate America to heal their sufferings with cash, and considering gender discrimination is easy to accuse and difficult to disprove, a lot more people jumped on-board. And that's most likely the truth behind it.

So... I think it's a bit difficult to start pointing fingers at corperations when you haven't worked for one.

/end offtopic rant

That's true at your store, Missy, but do you know if it's true at others?

It's a very good thing that you and other women at your store are treated as they should be, but I think that just by working for them, you don't know if it's a store thing or something widespread.

All I'm saying is that you're generalizing. I have several friends who work at other Wal-Marts and they haven't seen anything that would suggest discrimination either. So sure, like I said, it wouldn't surprise me if it did occur in more conservative, smaller-town Wal-mart stores, but even then I think it has more to do with the local attitudes and not with the corperation as a whole.