In at least one of these cases, though, Buffett is recognized as perhaps the premier clarinet maker, at least for clarinets that are readily available at a non-astronomical price. In other words, it’s not so much brand loyalty as adherence to quality, since there isn’t much else in the way of clarinets in the range of Buffett.
Kitchenaid for the Stand Mixer is one I’ve noticed for other people. I’m thinking of giving this to myself as a birthday present. Do you think it will knead chapati dough for me properly?
Personally:
Canon: I know that Nikon is just as good but my whole family has a strange nostalgic loyalty to Canon related to the Canon SLR my dad took photos of us with from 1981-1999.
Cetaphil extra-gentle face wash. Recommended by my derm in the early 90s and I have clung to it tenaciously because every time I go off of it I get a massive allergy attack.
Heinz tomato ketchup
Ipod: I can’t imagine getting any sort of other MP3 player because Apple makes it easy for me.
Honda: I’m from a Toyota family but I converted to Honda after I was the cheese in a 4 car crash sandwich (not at fault, I was pushed into the car in front of me when I was rearended on the freeway). My bumper was falling off and I was able to drive my car from SF to LA by duct taping it. An inspection later revealed that the collision had damaged the chassis. She drives fine, the old girl. I had AAA at the time and even though the damages were something like $1000 less than the value of the car, they rebuilt it.
Seriously? The beverage or the drug? Have you ever met anyone who, when told “we only have pepsi”, ordered another drink? Sometimes when waiters say “sorry, is pepsi ok?” or vice versa I feign a disgusted face and say I’d rather have water instead. I’ve always gotten reactions suggesting it’s extremely rare for anyone to be loyal enough to coke or pepsi to care.
I still believe it’s largely brand loyalty. Especially with Selmer, Leblanc, and Yamaha in regular use by (fewer) pros.
I do. I’m a Pepsi drinker, and if the restaurant only has Coke, then I get iced tea, or water. An ex-girlfriend of mine was the same way. I know we’re still in the minority who do this, but to answer your question, yes, there are people like us out there.
Craftsman tools.
Snap-on tools.
I used to be a loyal Redwing boot fan. Now they’re making them in China so all bets are off on my next boot purchase.
I’ve heard that cigarette smokers have the strongest brandy loyalty. It’s one of the few things that if the store has the item, just not the right brand a lot of people will just leave and go to the next store.
How did I miss that?
Are Craftsman tool people still Craftsman tool people? Personally I switched to Kobalt.
Coke sent me to college. I’ll accept Pepsi but I won’t like it.
Same here. I was going to get some at costco (well, my parents were getting them for me), and they were the right brand, the right size, except they were scented and I only wear unscented. So…yeah, you might say a smidge TOO particular. I have tried other brands, too, and I only like Playtex gentle glide.
Same here, except for Coke. I don’t drink too much soda anymore but I never cared for the taste of Pepsi.
Women who love Chico’s tend to love Chico’s. I know quite a few who don’t shop anywhere else.
I also know women who know the ONE brand and color of lipstick that is right for everyday wear, and go crazy during the periodic “let’s rename everything and pretend these are all new colors” fits that cosmetic companies have.
Fuzzy Dunlop, are you a southerner, or have you spent any time in the South? When they had the whole “New Coke” debacle, there were people setting up picket lines outside grocery stores to keep them from stocking it, songs (Google “Please don’t change the taste of Coke”) on the radio and other such madness. I worked as a waitress in high school, and people turned down Pepsi all the time. (It was a chain steak place, and we didn’t have the Coke option. It was something the manager brought up a lot in discussions with higher ups.)
Gotta agree. Any tool inspires passion if it helps you with your craft - brands of paint, yarn, food ingredients (I don’t know how many secret recipes are based on a specific brand), etc. But yeah, different guitars matter. There are whole *cultures *based on whether you prefer Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, etc…
What’s sticky is the replicas. There are guitars out there that are just as good as the originals. Stevie Ray Vaughn is famously playing a Japanese Tokai replica of a Fender Strat on the cover of his first CD. I have owned a few replicas over the years and loved them…but yeah, I gravitate towards my Gibsons…
Dr. Pepper. I’ve known Dr. Pepper drinkers to cuss people out who - when given money for the “you fly I buy” - bought the wrong drink. As a Dr. Pepper man myself I nod to and receive nods from other drinkers when passing by.
Also, back when I was a smoker if the store was out of Camels I moved on to the next.
Friskies Feline Favorites. If they ever stop making it, my kitty Marco is doomed, because he won’t eat anything else. Not even human food.
Carhartt jackets. The pinnacle of outerwear, I’m told.
Dannon yogurt. Nothing else comes close.
Pantene shampoo and conditioner.
And perfume and cologne. I have a handful of favorites they either stopped making or aren’t sold in the U.S. any more, so I have my work cut out for me when I run out!
Crowley cottage cheese. Ditto.
Guiness. Or Blue Moon beer. Everything else is just…beer.
I’ve never been further south than Northern Virginia. I’m willing to admit I’m wrong, but in my experience it’s a brand people are superficially loyal to, not fervently. I always buy pepsi products at the grocery store but I’m happy as a clam drinking whatever is available. Anyway I don’t know how to resolve the issue one way or the other since I’m sure it’s easy to find individual people on either side.
My wife. She’ll drink other sodas like Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew. But Coke is the only cola she’ll imbibe. If we go to a restaurant and they say they have Pepsi and not Coke, she’ll order something else.
I mildly prefer Coke over Pepsi, but generally in a restaurant situation if I asked for a coke I wouldn’t care what brand it is and if the server asked, “is Pepsi okay?” I’d probably laugh. “Sure, whatever.”
Diet Coke is my thing though. If I can’t get a Diet Coke, I’ll forego any other diet soda for a sugar one.