My daughter recently asked me to load a new app on her iPad. It’s a logos quiz game; the screen displays a logo with the brand name marked out, then you get a few seconds to answer which brand it is. She’s impressively good at it! I was able to get a few of the questions correct but she really knows her logos. Which led me to wonder how she knows them so well.

When I was younger, our family rarely had enough money to buy the “cool clothes.” If we were able to get the brand name, it would be the “big” birthday or Christmas gift. I distinctly remember my mom taking me to buy me a pair of Guess jeans — the ones with the little triangle on the back pocket. I wore those jeans year after year, treasuring them as one might hold close a family heirloom. I also had one Coke t-shirt that wasn’t the cool one-stripe rugby but it had the Coca-Cola logo on the front, which was enough for me. Most of the pictures of my early high school years show me wearing that prized outfit. My kids are completely the opposite. They don’t care about brand names and it’s a good thing. We are financially able to buy them the Under Armour, Aeropostale, or whatever the cool brands are now, but I’m glad my kids don’t demand or expect those brands.

As we travel out of town, my kids always look for familiar brands as we search for an exit with restaurants we like.  Even my son who can’t read yet knows if it’s Chick Fil A, McDonalds, or some other favorite because he knows the logos.  Some of this is from television, since everything from medication to bottled water is advertised til our eyes fall out.  This alone makes me want to take a break from the branded world.  Kind of like Hilton Head avoids putting flagrant signs out along the roadside, I’d like to walk through a store without being bombarded with brands and logos.  Of course, I am a bit of a brand name snob when it comes to certain things (shampoo, toilet paper, and soda come to mind.)  On the other hand, maybe I’m the one who flaunts these logos around the house.  Something to consider!