Why are so many of us walking billboards for companies?

[Skip Intro]

In the malls and on the sidewalks - everywhere I look it seems, people are wearing tshirts and polo shirts and jeans and hats with big, glaring labels of various companies. Like Abercrombie shirts, or Hillfiger, or Fubu. People search out these items, pay too much for them, and then turn thier body into a walking billboard. The hats too - CAT - I see that one a lot. Why would you want to advertise for CAT?

Its really bad when you go into a WalMart or SuperK and see what they're selling there. "Property of Coca Cola" Man, that's not just free advertising for coke, that's some serious devotion, (PROPERTY???).

"Hey, nice Bugle Boy shirt dude. Mine says Levi Strauss."

When did fashion for the masses become a source of advertising for corporations? Shouldn't they be paying us to wear this stuff?

(edit: not judging anyone who owns this kind of clothing - I'm not guilt free there myself. Hell, its hard to find clothes without the advertisements on them)

[lcordero]

1. Hell

I've been making an effort to find clothes that don't have logos on them. I got a couple of polo t-shirts a couple of years ago because they were for free. The stores downtown donated them because of the 9/11 effort.

[mitchum]

2. Because lots of people are stupid AND tacky

[LittleApple81]

3. It reminds me of my husband several years ago

I got the cutest jumper for our daughter but it had the Izod alligator applique on the pocket. He took a razor and removed it!
Other things you cannot remove, unfortunately...

[HEyHEY]

4. Because big business RULES!!!!

I love them so much that I'm willing to pay $30 to advertise for them!

[trof]

5. One reason (among many) that I will never

NEVER buy Tommy Hilfiger stuff.
I just wear logo T shirts of places I really like or support.
"OLLIE'S BARBECUE
World's Best Barbecue"
(Must be true because it says so, right there on the shirt. Alas, Ollie's went out of business a year or two ago. New location didn't work out.)
"(umpteenth) ANNUAL FLORABAMA CHILI COOKOFF"
www.florabama.com
(I actually achieved nirvana there during a wet T shirt contest one night, but it was gone in the morning.)
"WOLF BAY WATERSHED WATCH"
www.wolfbay.org

And last, but not least...
"65-C
<air force wings graphic>
KYHOOYA*"
(From a reunion of my pilot training class.
*Our class motto: Keep Your Head Out Of Your Ass)

[Another Bill C.]

6. Any questions?

About 15 years ago my son talked me into taking him to a "striped shirt" place to buy a shirt. We were looking at sweatshirts that were made in Asia. The salesman asked if we had any questions. I said, "Yes. How can you charge eighteen dollars for a shirt that was made with forty-cents-an-hour labor." I got an honest-to-goodness "Blub blub." for an answer.

I buy Route 66 shirts at Kmart. They're nice and heavy and don't have any advertising on them.

[HEyHEY]

7. I've taken to dressing british

BuY a casual looking sportcoat or two ...some collared shirts of different patterns, which you can get well-priced anywhere....and some decent made in Canada dress pants or cords. Then I don't mind paying a little higher of a price. As well I don't walk around like a beacon. But if your son dresses like that in school....he'll get his ass kicked. ;-)

[trof]

14. and thinking Yiddish?

motto of the Harvard School of Business

[HEyHEY]

15. oye!

Serious..is it?

[trof]

16. unofficial

some years back

[trotsky]

10. You got it, Bill C.

How many hundreds of percent markup on most of that crap? You know, if clothing companies didn't insist on making outrageous profits, you could actually pay American workers a decent wage, yet sell the shirt for the same price and still make a good profit.

Got a few Route 66 shirts and jeans in my wardrobe, too.

[SiobhanClancy]

8. This is the ONLY logo I will wear

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:O5Huvh11svsC:

[HEyHEY]

9. Amen

On both of those...for me it's

[Deja Q]

11. Target

Yes, I wear clothing bought at Target. I'm good at finding corporate-propaganda-free clothes.

If it does contain their gigantic advert, I hide it as much as I can by coloring the advert the same color as the clothing; usually on shoes as I only wear black shoes.

"Property of Coca-cola"? Corporate slave, what's new?

[ACK]

19. You can find some at Old Navy too

I go there for the sales and stock up on t-shirts with no labels and they are cheaper than the ones where they tattoo Old Navy on your chest.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

25. At old navy

I bought 5 shirts for 20 dollars. None of them had the logo on them. I think that is very cool. I got a blue, black, yellow, pink and red solid colored tshirts and they hold up well.

[Scaramouche]

12. It's the natural progression from Bumpe Stickers...

In the beginning there were words affixed to automobiles...

Then there was clothing apparel advertisting automobiles...

Then advertising saw it was good...

Then clothing apparel became advertising...

What next???

People tattooing advertisting on their foreheads...

Thus is the sign of the beast...

[cliss]

13. Just a case of misguided loyalty

Pretty clever - use employees, and other people too, (I'm assuming you can pick these up at the local Goodwill) to advertise your company.

The question is, why would I do that? My company has ABSOLUTELY no loyalty to me, as a person. The day I stop being useful to them, if I screw up too many times, or if management decides to take a look at the bottom line and LAY OFF a few, I'm out the door.

Maybe a little severance pay, tears at the door, and I'm out on the sidewalk. Who needs that?

[MercutioATC]

17. I believe that being a "billboard" is sort of the point with FUBU.

I was under the impression that the "For Us By Us" was a statement. As for the rest, I agree...

[Room101]

18. LOL, I use that term all the time

I got it from George Carlin it is so true. We are corporate advertising zombies.

I was at Trader Joes (organic Grocery store) with my son and the cashier asked him if he wanted a sticker. You know my sons answer. I looked at the sticker and it said the stores name. I said in a semi-loud voice "we call this advertising" cashier laughs. "My sons no advertising whore" Me and the cashier laughed:) I gave the sticker back.

[ACK]

20. More disturbing -- messages on little girl's rear

Have you seen this nonsense?

Little teenage girls wearing super short shorts with some kind of message or word across the back end of the shorts.

One girl in the neighborhood has lacrosse on their butt and well I don't get it from a parents point of view. Why the hell would you let you little girl not even in high school wear super short shorts with messages on their ass? WTF is wrong with these people?

[LWolf]

21. I don't own a piece of clothing with a logo.

But then, I'm not exactly an example of up-to-date fashion.

I wear exactly what seems comfortable and practical for the moment, and absolutely nothing else. Er..that isn't practical and comfortable, I mean. I'll never get an endorsement.

Why buy them to begin with?

[populistmom]

22. I only have three logo shirts

One says La Leche League (a nonprofit international breastfeeding support group) and the other is a local hospital where my husband works. Oh, and a March of Dimes t-shirt.
I've always thought style is about much more than a label with someone else's idea of style.

[7th_Sephiroth]

23. The clothes i buy

are just either solid color, or i have a ton of shirts (and you have to look F*cking hard for these) i wear alot of chineese shirts.

[Spider Jerusalem]

24. I own one piece of logo-emblazoned clothing.

A Kangol cap. All my t-shirts are either solid colour, or have things like the graven image of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, James Dean or Johnny Cash giving the finger onstage at San Quentin on them.

[PittPoliSci]

26. i'm a walking billboard for bands that i like

cause their music should be appreciated by all.