Brand (f***ing) loyalty

I started watching the first season of Deadwood. I love it if only because it teaches me fresh ways to incorporate the word fuck into my vocabulary, which is appreciated. More importantly, what I learned in high school is basically the extent of my knowledge of the Old West and the Gold Rush, so I like that the show is teaching me a little something about that era. While I watch it, I have my computer on my lap so I can look up the background of the characters. I knew Wild Bill Hickock was a real person, and I was pretty sure I'd heard of Calamity Jane, but I was surprised to find out that many of the characters were real people, such as Al Swearengen, Seth Bullock (hello- HOT) and EB Barnum.

Prior to my Deadwood marathon, I did some hard core cleaning yesterday. With my new roommate in the house, I had the opportunity to try out some fancy new cleaning products. What fun! She has a special toilet bowl cleaning product, an orange-scented furniture polish, even a high-tech Rubbermaid bucket. It was heaven. All of this exploration of new brands got me to thinking about brand loyalty. For example, I have two cleaning products to which I am loyal- Pledge for cleaning furniture and Soft Scrub for cleaning the bathroom. I remember the first time I went to the store to buy my own cleaning products when I got my own place in college. It was like I was on autopilot as I filled my cart; I picked all the same stuff my mom has in the house. I've since dropped my brand loyalty to glass cleaners and laundry detergents, but I can't let go of Soft Scrub or Pledge.

People are funny with their brands, and I always wonder from where these loyalties originate and when people are willing to deviate. I have lots of products that I am willing to buy generic or because they are on sale. For example, I would never buy brand name contact solution. Never. What's the point? It's all saline and some kind of "no rub" cleansing chemical that probably doesn't make any difference anyway. Razors are another thing I don't give a *fuck-all about, and I refuse to buy shaving cream because I think it's a gimmick and totally unnecessary. Deodorant is another non-issue for me, but I found out recently by surveying a few women I work with that I am alone in this. If a particular brand is on sale, I'll buy it. I don't care what it smells like, if it is a "clear solid" or if it's pH balanced for a woman. As long as it prevents me from smelling like a tourist after a long day in Disney World, I'm in.

My brand loyalties extend beyond Pledge and Soft Scrub. I'm very brand loyal to Verizon. You are probably familiar with their slogan "We Never Stop Working For You." Well, it's totally true. It's the one company I've dealt with that I can count on to accommodate my needs. All I have to do is tell them I've been a customer since the day the company existed and they'll sell me a Motorola Razr Phone (more on Motorola later) for $50, cut me a deal on text messaging, and get rid of a 411 charge if the operator was an incompetent *fucknut. In a related matter, I am also loyal to Motorola. When I ran my first Motorola phone through a washing machine and it worked when it came out, I knew this was the brand for me. I'm also loyal to Aveda, which is my newest preference. It's costly but my hair and skin have never looked better. Finally, in college, I was loyal to Bud Light, but that was only because I went to school in Milwaukee and I wanted to be a pain in the ass in a Miller town. Had I gone to St. Louis University, I probably would have been brand loyal to Miller Lite.

What are your brand loyalties? And what products are you willing to buy generic or on sale?


* A use of the word fuck I learned while watching Deadwood. Brilliant!