Speaking of ‘branding’, I ran across this interestingly named barbershop today:
I don’t know what idea this is supposed to conjure in the average person’s mind, but to name a barbershop, one especially with ‘Hot Lather Neck Shaves’, after a woman whose claim to fame was her being beheaded is, well, a bit surprising.
I halfway expect it to be located next door to the ‘St. Joan BBQ’.
It wasn’t.
Lady Jane. Getting a haircut.
Adri
HAHA! Glad to see that even after all these years you have not lost your sense of humor.
Randy Greenwald
I have to work harder at it since there aren’t as many blondes around….
jenion
Very funny!
Since you asked for input in your first post on branding, I’ll weigh in to say that I like “Somber and Dull”. It is clever, and I think no one whose blog was actually those things would name it so. Case in point, I named mine “Jenion” (ba-dump-bump).
Branding as a topic though…I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because of what I see as the trend/habit of conflating people with brands. The to-do over Kim Kardashian’s latest nude selfie is a perfect example – some people responded to it as an issue of “brand”, some as a very personal issue. When the person is the brand, it makes it difficult to be even appropriately critical of the brand without seeming to attack the person. It is easiest to see this with celebrities, but I know a number of millennials who worry about their “brand” with regard to a host of life choices. Feels awfully limiting to me, thinking of yourself as your “product”.
Plus, when we remember that branding is what is done to prove ownership of cattle…it just seems like we need to be thoughtful about how far we take the idea of branding.
Not a complete or thorough analysis, just some of what has been running through my mind…
Randy Greenwald
Thanks, Jen. I’m not likely to change the name even if a persuasive argument were made to move in that direction. What I need to do is to own it and not shrink from it.
Fortunately, I’ve been insulated from any to do about a KK nude selfie, which is probably a good thing. To be honest, I’ve not thought much about the conflation of brand and person. But I can see how a ‘brand’ can absorb the person. A celebrity preacher, as a result, cannot grow beyond his brand without facing a potential a loss of consumers. I wonder how much that impacts me, even though I’m not a celebrity. Never seemed to bother Jesus.
And thanks for the insight into the source of the word. I’ve never thought about that. Intriguing.
For what it is worth, I like the title ‘Jenion’.