"Brands can seem like a way to add a phony value to an otherwise undifferentiated commodity. But they..."

“Brands can seem like a way to add a phony value to an otherwise undifferentiated commodity. But they also mark the entry point for consumers into some vicarious fantasy, some idea tangential to consumption. The potential value of a brand rests in the conflation of compulsion and the desire to believe. It must make you feel as though you are choosing and also have no choice.”

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Rob Horning, Consistency through adulteration

from Stowe Boyd http://www.stoweboyd.com/post/153558677342