Read This First!

It’s become even easier to blend in with the millennials than I could ever have hoped.  Their form of English isn’t as antiquated as I once thought; though their form of written English is so barbaric I can barely stand to look at it.  I thought I’d be able to look past all the sharp angles and what the locals call “chicken scratch” but, no, it is beginning to wear on me.  At least a few familiar brand names are around for me to stare at.  The Coca Cola cursive logo is almost hypnotic!

The elegance of the script and the way its bold, red color speaks to the character of the brand is amazing.  As if the artist was as carefree and at-ease as the beverage whose name he penned.  The most interesting thing, for me, to see is how little the logo has changed over the years – and how much!

What began as a simple, cursive rendering of a product name has evolved into an icon.  Different forms of it, even in different languages, are scattered across the logo.  Looking through Google (such a joy to see in its infancy!) I can find the logo in as many different languages and renderings as I want!  The Chinese version is particularly beautiful.  Though it seems very rare in actual retail locations … probably a consequence of landing before 2010 …

I broke my own rule and asked one of the millennials about the logo yesterday, too.  I know.  I could be polluting my research, but I wanted a firsthand account of what the brand means to the average person in this time.  Sadly, I would have had just as much success asking a dog its opinion on Purina cat food.  I even turned the bottle sideways and he still couldn’t see Clyde Cola’s face in the bottom half of the script!  While the product is well respected, known, and even revered by some in this time … the brand is a mystic shadow in the background.  Very much an invisible driver of purchase decisions and NOT the central point of people’s conscious worlds as it becomes … later.

Every now and then I forget that a millennial could intercept these messages.  I fear I give too much away already and that the timeline, in addition to my own research, might be corrupted as a result.  At the same time, this tiny link to the future – my present – is too valuable to give up in its entirety.

Read This First!

Arrived in Portland, albeit 29 years later than planned.  So much is different from the photos I saw, and there are far more cars on the street.  Apparently the animosity the millennials felt towards public transportation really did last well into the 21st century.  I owe Dr. Williams dinner.

Found clothes to blend in with the locals.  It’s a bit cooler than I expected and the light jacket I brought with me isn’t quite enough.  I tore the labels off before swapping it for one of the local’s heavier coats.  I don’t want any of my name brands corrupting the research.  I’ll find a way to dispose of the labels later.

Several brands are already well established, and I see some of the millennials are already starting to appreciate the beauty of their accidental creations.  Little do they know how powerful their brands really are.

I had expected to watch the unfolding of the field of branding through the 1980s.  It’s too bad the techs missed by so much.  Knowing what’s coming for the branding world over the next few years has me excited, though, and I think my fellow brandologists will be just as excited about my present opportunity as I am now.  Hopefully they’re getting my reports …