“What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca Cola, too. A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.”
–Andy Warhol
Really like this quote. Where is it from?
It blends together two things I’ve been thinking about: one is that rich people and middle class people have converging habits, two is what brands stand for.
The converging habits bit makes sense if you compare the lifestyle of Cornelius Vanderbilt to a middle-class person in the mid-19th century vs. Bill Gates to someone today. Yes, Bill Gates can have a private plane. But good quality food, electricity, modern amenities, and similar entertainment is accessible to both.
The brand bit is more complicated, but can be boiled down to: brands represent something aspirational (and shared) and the infrastructure that can deliver a repeat performance over and over and over again.
Anyway, thanks for the quote and sorry for the long rant.
chris,
Here’s another thought on brands…Harley Davidson markets its motorcycles to an imaginary consumer who doesn’t actually exist: The outlaw biker. By marketing to this imaginary consumer, they sell tons of bikes to investment bankers. Discuss.
So, Chris…. wrong again. Most outlaw biker gangs; Hells Angels, the Mongols motorcycle club, etc. Also….who ever said investment bankers/investmentbanker types are not outlaws? ie. Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Ivan Boesky, Michael Milken, Hafiz Mohammad Naseem, Raymond J. McClendon, Richard Josephberg, FRANK QUATTRONE….well…you get the picture. Harley is marketing to ,” OUTLAWS THAT ARE REAL….”
the independent patriot
well, the rich get " real " COKE..( Cocaine ).or as Rush Limbaugh does…Oxycontin…or some other " Conservative," prescription drug. The rich and poor are still in 2 different worlds. The poor are enslved in poor paying jobs, bad education , poor nutrition & healthcare and high interest debt. The rich get the best of everything and build multigenerational empires to spoon fed brats that go to HARVARD, YALE AND STANFORD. It's still who you know, who's your parents and what's your networth in America in general that counts. Yes, there are self made individuals, but there probably is more trust babies…..
the independent patriot against the tyranny
aww fack.