It seems like the switch where high-status brands went from making high quality products to featuring their name and logo prominently was good for both producer and consumer: the producer gets free advertising, and the consumer more clearly signals their wealth. I don’t know the history of this, but I’m interested in how this happened – seems like there’s a tough coordination problem, where if one brand/consumer switches then they just look tacky.
(Not all brands have switched, and maybe there’s a new money/old money difference.)
It seems like the switch where high-status brands went from making high quality products to featuring their name and logo prominently was good for both producer and consumer: the producer gets free advertising, and the consumer more clearly signals their wealth. I don’t know the history of this, but I’m interested in how this happened – seems like there’s a tough coordination problem, where if one brand/consumer switches then they just look tacky.
(Not all brands have switched, and maybe there’s a new money/old money difference.)