We give them money and then we advertise their brand.....

I've been perplexed by this subject for many years but I think this is the first time I've actually written anything because in the long run people need to identify with something and in turn be identified with something or someone LARGER than themselves.

For the last few years plastic bags have been banned from the market and if you need a paper bag they charge you 10 cents.

Yesterday they started selling reusable plastic bags for 25 cents with a very large PAVILIONS name on the side.  I asked the clerk why they were selling plastic bags and he smugly answered, "because they are reusable."

REUSABLE PLASTIC BAGS??????
WITH A VERY LARGE PAVILIONS NAME ON THE SIDE
and
THEY CHARGE US (not all of us) 25 CENTS TO WALK AROUND ADVERTISING THEIR COMPANY.

If it takes a 100 years for regular plastic bags to disintegrate...how long will a reusable plastic bag last?

I somewhat understand if someone buys a jersey with their favorite players name on it.
I almost get the secondary market that seems to exist when Jordan introduces a new shoe.
I never got the idea of a logo of a manufacturer on a shirt.
I understand when someone buys a country club golf shirt when visiting a special golf course.

I will never ever understand why someone would pay 25 cents for a reusable plastic bag that actually names the store responsible for creating a such a monster product.


They actually know how stupid people can be and they thrive on that knowledge.

https://www.theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsJqMmuFWO4

THE MAGIC QUESTION
How many people that work for Albertsons, which owns Safeway, Vons and Pavilions have actually watched the video's of plastic islands in our oceans?

What year was it that companies learned they could charge a premium by placing their brands on the outside of their product so that people could advertise their companies for them?

I assume NIKE might have been an early benefactor of this type of behavior.  Maybe they appear to be a major player in the beginning because their advertising campaigns were unique.

I think back to when Converse and Keds were the only tennis shoe players and neither of them capitalized on BRAND AWARENESS....mainly because there were no other brands unless you include Buster Brown.

Again I understand if someone wears a name of someone they admire, whether it be in sports, politics or entertainment.  What I don't understand is the symbolism of wearing a product that advertises a company so that other people can see how much money one spends on said products.

Walking around with a Rolex and wearing a shirt that says I'm wearing a Rolex is probably the next step toward this epidemic BRAND nonsense....and also a very good way to be the victim of a robbery....which by the way, happens with high priced sneakers.

Of course I will admit that I've never been the demographic that all the advertising is aimed at and have only asked four people in my life for an autograph.

Bill Buckner looked at me and said...."get a life."

Tommy Lasorda told me to fuck off once and then years later signed a ball.

Angus Young of AC/DC signed my Panama golf hat and tried it on and asked how he looked. And Jerry West signed a golf cap that is totally illegible.

I was standing in a circle one time around Muhammad Ali while people were handing him money to sign, but I just stuck out my hand and said..."the pleasure you have given me, I just want to shake your hand"  He looked at me, smiled and said, "Thank you very much," and then went back to signing the bills without looking at anyone.

It seems that Ali never really took advantage of the Brand dealio and it's odd because he might be the most recognizable person in the world.

I might buy a bag from Pavilions if it said Ali is the Greatest....but it couldn't be a reusable plastic bag.

Sorry Champ but my celebrity adoration only goes so far. 

The brand thing could end up, like my friend Tom said, with people walking around looking like race car drivers.

It's well on it's way to that level of nonsense.

I know it sounds silly but if someone wants me to advertise their product I expect to be paid.

And that will only happen if my art becomes more important than me....and truthfully speaking when you get to a certain age as an artist you fully have to accept that IT might be all about
LATER.

Much much much much later.....

Then again sometimes life just turns on a dime....and everything goes a different direction.

Maybe those suits that run Albertsons will wake up tomorrow and decide to help clean up the plastic island in the middle of the oceans.

Sometimes MAYBE and IF really have no meaning.....and maybe if a monkey flew out of my ass I could be on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

Of course it would be much more effective if the monkey had on a pair of Nike's, a pair of Levi's and a Dodger cap.

Michael Timothy McAlevey