Branding livestock is a custom in which the owner of said livestock would grab a long rod that had a symbol or initials at the end of it, heat that particular end up to a very high temperature, and then force that blazing hot rod onto the animal.
This process was done so the owners of the cattle, horses, livestock would be able to identify the animal if something had every happened, and identification would be needed. This was a very effective step in keeping animals as a product, and preventing false claims of ownership. This method is almost completely replaced by ear tagging, but is still used in some parts of the working industry.
A clothing brand, is a group of products that are presented by a company, and often use identification marks on a piece of clothing, that presents itself to other viewing people, letting them know information about your purchasing habits.
Clothing brands can represent certain aspects about the company that they have earned or worked towards over their years of business, things such as dependability, quality, guarantee, honor, fine workmanship, advanced technology, cost efficiency, little things that the people who buy the product can associate with all, or most of that brand's product line.
This is true, right? This is a safe thing to assume? We can feel safe assuming Honda vehicles will last well beyond other car brands, and we can be assured Trojan condoms are more durable than the fifty cent peter jackets you might find in a vending machine at a truck stop.
This is all fine and dandy, when does branding become nothing more than just a brand? How often as people in a free market economy are we substituting real quality and effectiveness for things like status, dignity, and overall price? Is there a meeting point where something just costs too much for what you get? Does the brand you advertise represent more than just a brand? And how are we able to identify people who are using brands and products to do the identifying for them? How do we feel about people who base their entire character by something as shallow as a brand name?
Something Boney M has taught me, is you cannot buy "cool". No matter how much money you have to spend, no matter how many gadgets you have in your pocket, weather you smoke or drink, own a certain kind of sneakers or listen to whatever popular music you listen to, these things do not now, and will never make you "cool". Never, ever. Real cool is inside of you, and can never be bought. And that is something the marketing people don't want you to know.
On that note, wtf is with people wearing shirts and hats with the Monster energy drink on them? Do people actually pay for this shit? Sorry if I'm being money-conscious, but I'm seriously asking, why the fuck would someone wear a food-product emblem on their bodies? Unless there is something particularly awesome about the product (say, a local restaurant, or something classic like a coca-cola), this is just an advertisement. You are a walking billboard to me. What you are saying to me is "I don't have a personality, so after I donated my hard earned money to this company, they sent me a pre-packaged, pre-developed personality. Whenever I see someone with an identical level of dignity, I can give them a high five and talk about how big of fagots we are".
Granted the drink is tasty, and they are major supporter in a lot of extreme sports, this does not justify the need or want to
pay someone to advertise for them. It's silly as hell. It's the exact opposite of what should be happening. Brands like this pay other people, particularly athletes, to wear their product, so they can have money to buy more athletic gear and stuff with. That makes sense. What these numbskulls are doing is just... silly.
The verdict is, unless you are a raging douchebag, sponsered, are affiliated with in any way, have nothing else to wear, or just reeeeally feel like supporting the cause: don't wear branded clothing, or you will end up as their property, you will be branded, you will be owned, just like livestock; meat.
