Loyaty over stupid stuff

Factual Questions
1

Disclaimer#1 I’m not sure if I posted this thread before, I started to write it once, but don’t remember ever submiting it, I did a quick search and couldn’t find it, so I probably never did, but anyone can feel free to point out to me what an idiot I am if this is a repeat.

Disclaimer#2 Im not sure what forum to post this in, its a general question but doesn’t have a distinct answer, so if a mod feels the need to move it I won’t be offended.

Anyway, Why do we feel such loyalty to things that are so stupid? I have seen people get in an agrument over AMD vs Intel, HP vs Sun workstations and the like. Technically they are our tools and the companies should be working their asses off to insure that we buy their’s again, but for some reason we imeaditatly decide to get an absurd loyalty to them. I wish I could go out shopping for a car objectively, but I’m a Ford man and just can’t ever see the good points to a Mopar or Chevy. Give me Craftsman or Snap-on, no other tool is worthy of my hands. But as for things I don’t care about, I have no idea. I couldn’t tell you 1 month later what brand the stove I bought is, and I would probably never guess what brand of cleaner is in my closet right now.
Why do we have such loyalty to our tools, is it simple arrogance and we don’t want to admit we may have bought the wrong thing, or some inate social instinct to seperate those like us from those different from us?

2

I believe the answer you’re looking for here is “MPSIMS”.

3

Well, break a Craftsman and they will give you another one. Forever. That’s pretty cool.
I too like Fords, but it will be a question of money next time so I might buy from the guys who bombed Pearl Harbour.

4

Association. I prefer coke and dislike pepsi. Over time I have developed a relationship with coke (yah yah … run with that you wankers) and, for the same reason I cheer for a certain sports team, I get offended by people who slag coke.

Don’t know if that makes sense, but if not, too bad … such is the rambling of my brain.

5

I think it is a general question, and here’s my WAG.

Loyalty is a useful characteristic: it makes a person harder for outsiders to exploit and provides some guarantee that an individual will not themselves try to exploit others. This makes teamwork viable even where explicit enforceable contracts are not possible.

Loyalty is only useful if an individual has difficulty controlling it. Otherwise when faced with a choice of whether to be loyal or sell out, a rational agent will sell out if it worthwhile, making “loyalty” meaningless.

So loyalty is at least partly beyond our rational and concious control.

picmr

6

Lazarus7,

Coke sucks.

7

Well, yeah. For Ford owners anyway. (heh,heh,heh)

Seriously though, I think brand loyalty is a shortcut to emotional security in lots of ways. Make the right choice and you won’t be disappointed.

Most people have probably disappointed themselves (or let down other people) by making poor choices at one time or another, only to make better choices next time around, and felt satisfied they wouldn’t be disappointed again.

Myself, I used to buy cheap, disposable tools. After losing or throwing away my fourth set of ultra cheap wire strippers/crimpers, I finally bought some nice ones that cost nearly 10 times more and never regreted it.

Lots of other disappointing choices come to mind, like VHS vs Beta, PC vs Mac, Compact Disc vs MiniDisc, and Zip drive vs CD-RW to name a few. The trade offs are clear, yet people still make poor choices and regret them later.

Other things ain’t quite so easy to explain like Coke vs Pepsi, Ford vs Chrysler vs Chevy, Nike vs Adidas, Levi’s vs Wranglers and such. Presumably the trade offs, if any, are trivial. I can see here how “preferences” may not just involve tastes or aesthetics or comfort, but also lets a person be included in some group of people they want to identify with.

For me: PC (WinTel), CD, Zip (regretably), Diet Coke, Chevy, Adidas, Levi’s.

8

Brand loyalty is bizarre. The products are so similar so much of the time, and yet people get all worked up over Coke or Pepsi, McDonald’s or Burger King, Nike or Reebok. It seems to me this is a huge testament to the power of advertising. I also think this is part of the reason they keep advertising these products even though literally everyone has tried them before. They’re just continuing to build up the product myth in our minds. I think we end up liking the whole product image more than just the product.

9

I think you have pretty much nailed it right here. Many of us may chose a brand name, or taste, or something else. Not because of an inherent superiority, but because it was Mom’s fave, or you like a superstar who likes that brand- or, for the more insidious but understandable reasons that… saturation advertising works. Eventually, you begin to see one brand as the one you “prefer” over another one, for myriad reasons. Might be a clever commercial. Those Molson radio ads from the 80’s caught on like wildfire. People would talk about having heard the latest one, and which one they liked the most. It didn’t matter, on one way, that it was Molson- it just mattered that the commercials were a hot topic that year( years ). It’s such an imprecise science. What was it about THOSE ads that caught people? The fact that the guy was sweet-sounding, clever yet overeager? That the woman got to play straight gal, right up to that signature deep warm laugh at the end of each spot? People got hooked.

SOMETHNG hooks us about a name, or image associated with that name. If I could figure out just what that thing was, for each product, I'd be a gazillionaire.....

Cartooniverse

p.s. Trival Hijack: The two people who did those Molson Radio Ads were the lady who HAD the Molson Account- she was in advertising, and a friend of hers. That friend invented the Steadicam camera stabilizing device. They came up with the idea of the spots together, recorded them in his spare bedroom on his Teac mixer/deck, and sent them in to Molson every few months for acceptance/rejection. When I took my Steadicam training from him, he ducked out for a few hours one day, so he and Anne could cut some new spots… End Hijack !

10

It seems to me to be all about image…even and perhaps most especially when it makes the opposite claim.

The Sprite commercials that were running recently come to mind because their entire focus was “Image is Nothing”…even going so far as to poke fun at how silly some cola commercials have become. However, actually they are appealing to image just as hard as anybody else. These spots are aimed at people who like to believe that they are not influenced by “image” spots but ironicly this is exactly the image that the cola commercial producer is appealing to. Or to quote good old Yossarian “Thats some catch that catch -22.”

Sometimes these ad campaigns work against the product though. I find myself frequently deciding on an off or unusual brand when I’m standing at the drink cooler in the gas station just because it irks me to think of myself as just another robot choosing a Coke.

Hell, I’m probably better off drinking water anyway. But which brand should I buy?

11

Olympia. [ducks]

12

With all due respect, I disagree that advertising is the biggest influence on brand loyalty. I think that the environment in which a person grows up has a big influence on this as well.

For example: I will buy Crest toothpaste over any other brand in spite of the price. I have tried other kinds but I like Crest best, because I like the taste of it better than other kinds of toothpaste. The fact that I like the taste is probably directly derived from the fact that my parents always bought Crest. In spite of all the ads I’ve seen for Colgate and other toothpastes, I will still buy Crest when I have a choice. Milk was always the Darigold, and after I moved out I still bought the same brand I grew up with. I’ve noticed that my sisters and I tend to buy the same brands of things even though we’re all out of the nest now. There are some brands I’ve noticed and commercials I remember, but I don’t think those influence my spending habits.

I read somewhere (sorry, no cite but I’ll look for one) that people start developing brand loyalties in their teens. I for one was more influenced by my classmates when I was a teenager than anything I saw on TV.

13

All the above have good points. With me what it comes down to is experience. I grew up with Crest, and Tide, Safeguard and Rightguard. I use none of those products now, having experienced ones that suit me better.

I’ve discovered that when it comes to certain items, hand tools for example, it pays to buy the best you can afford; the same with shoes.

As for cars, I detest Fords. Why? Lousy track record. I have heard more complaints from Ford owners about their cars and poor service from Ford mechanics than any other brand. I like their colours, interior layouts and styling (mostly), but unless you trade in every two to three years, they’re crap. I myself prefer Volkswagens; I own three. I like how tough they are, I like German engineering, and they’re easy to work on. Are there smoother, quieter cars out there? You bet! But I’ll stick with VW.

I’m willing to switch any brand of anything, if my experience dictates it’s a better choice. So I’m all the time experimenting. Even though I get burned sometimes, the payoff is I find good products that I can shift my loyalty to from those that aren’t so good.