0993: "Brand Awareness"

[Fabio Krull]

Every country had something like this, I believe.

http://static.twoday.net/post/images/ja_regal.jpg

I remember entering a huge supermarket as a kid in the eighties. The entire shop was just packet with this stuff. It was kind of scary.

[Eugo]

And now for something completely different.

On the other end of the spectrum you have all this packaging with the brand name prominent, the "33% more" even larger, and then a bunch of buzzwords also quite large, then there's the "Free CD inside!" and other non-information... and the actual word which would say what's inside is in the second smallest font, just a pixel larger than nutritional information or safety precautions.

I was looking for socks in K-mart once, and I wasn't sure whether I found them. The word "socks" was completely absent on the bag, and the bit showing through the transparent part was insufficient to see whether it contains socks or some mysterious piece of underwear. The only text that described the content was "crew cuts" - which looked like a type of haircut to me. I actually had to look over the neighboring items, and only the third type of item, "knee highs", was something I could recognize and use as context. How hard can it be to print "SOCKS"?

The next offender are the pickles. The label says "dills" - well, I was trying to find dills anywhere, and after some years I found fresh ones in an Asian shop. The jar with "dills" invariably contained pickled cucumbers. The label did say "cucumbers"... in 5px font, among the ingredients.

The worst offender is the shampoo. Regardless of the brand, it is always printed in that 2nd smallest font, hidden somewhere between large buzzwords like "voluminizing". Anyone who has trouble reading small print without glasses has to go through six bottles of various conditioners to finally find a shampoo, by sheer trial and error.

So... apart from five pages of discussion over "this idea is so good it was invented dozens of times", I think any brand which prints the name of the product large enough is my preference when shopping.

[Yoduh]

anyone remember when Randall's comics use to be funny?

http://xkcd.com/25/

no thread without a "how is this funny?" comment isn't a true xkcd thread.

[Zylon]

So the beer cans come closest, but everyone else screaming "GAWD my country already does this" doesn't make any sense to me. Most of the stuff that's been posted is nowhere close to the concept presented in the comic.

Generic Luncheon Loaf by QueenieVonSugarpants, on Flickr

[foobar2]

Somebody already beat you to it -- there have been generic foods with exactly that sort of label for decades; I remember them from childhood. Google "generic food" in Google's "Images" category and have a look.

[Larnsturt]

There's also Generic Value Products, sold at Sally Beauty Supplies.

I first got it just because it had a somewhat snide slogan: "Generic Value Products were formed by a group of experienced chemists and marketing people who knew they could produce "at popular prices", a product as good as the "higher priced" quality NAME BRANDS." Can you hear the snippy, sarcastic tone of voice as I do? Then it lists the ingredients of the popular shampoo they are copying next to their own.

It's also pretty great shampoo.

[Marscaleb]

The alt text made me laugh out loud.

(A while back I decided to let comic authors know when I laugh, as they have no way to know otherwise.)

[picopir8]

Anyone growing up in the midwest in the 70s saw nearly identical packaging when shopping at Jewel.

[Zylon]

Somebody already beat you to it -- there have been generic foods with exactly that sort of label for decades; I remember them from childhood. Google "generic food" in Google's "Images" category and have a look.

Six pages of people already beat you to your first post.

[Random832]

http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/sa/sainsburys-basics-white-grated-cheese-500g-.jpg
God knows what type of cheese it actually is...

That's probably because Europe has dumb laws about "place of origin" based names [which includes most cheese names]. In the US, you can call it Parmesan right up to the point where you can't call it cheese, and it's not false marketing because no-one actually believes that means it comes from Parma.

The brilliant thing is that Loblaw[s] created two house brands: "No Name" yellow label generic, and premium house-brand "President's Choice" (or "PC"). No Name says, "I'm cheap", and PC says, "Yeah, but not that damn cheap".

Sort of like WalMart and Target.

WalMart and Target are (as far as I know?) separate companies. However, Kroger and Marsh (the latter is a regional chain you may not have heard of) both have two tiers of store brand, the lower of which has plain white packaging.

[kd7dvd]

This was tried sometime back in the '80s. The chain's house brand went away and was replaced by this generic labeling. The text was Navy blue on white and was a little wordier than this.

I vividly remember the COOKING OIL label. It said, "Suitable for most household purposes; may be reused a limited number of times."

(The label didn't have a website, though. Also, I may have inserted that semicolon where there was none before...)

The experiment didn't work too well. I know *my* mom didn't buy the generic cooking oil, anyway. Couple of years later, they restarted the house brand.

[Glenn Magus Harvey]

I am deeply disappointed in Randall Munroe; the tea, sugar, and hot sauce packages are not colored white.

And to whoever posted the link to a google.co.uk search for "tesco value", thanks. Lulz were had upon my discovering a rather amusing and easily mutatable meme.

[someguy12345]

Just like everyone else here, I've also seen those things a million times, mainly the No Name products, including the truck that presumably ships those products.

[myoilu]

All i think of is Dharma

[Arancaytar]

It's almost been done, though not quite that minimalistic. The German REWE chain sells its own products (alongside other brands) in a plain white carton, with the name of the product, but they also include a picture and a brand name "ja!" ("yes!").

[2.(9) characters in length.]

You should find out what companies make placebos for drug studies and sell those next to the homeopathic stuff that is being sold next to the actual vitamins.
"Clinically proven to be equally effective to homeopathic remedies"

Then come out with a line of "plus" health supplements.
"All the power of our original formula, PLUS vitamins and minerals"

Truth in advertising.

[Age of Fable]

Hah! You're just a kid... the black-lettering-on-white generics were an 80s thing, back when there was a "recession," which younger folk may not appreciate

Man the 80s were a crazy time. Hard to imagine now, but in those days bankers were greedy and irresponsible!

[not the XKCD Rob]

This whole thread is about a concept which for me is rather emotionally charged.

Perhaps because of my Asperger syndrome, I become easily overwhelmed. Also, I have a rather short attention span for things such as grocery stores, and I have a very low tolerance for what I consider stupid behavior.

I don't give a damn about name brands. I shop at ALDI because they don't use gimmicks (beyond the prices ending in "9"). No coupons, no loyalty cards or similar crap. I might have seen a "buy one, get one XX% off" type deal once or twice, but that's about the limit of it. And the prices are low and the food seems to me as good as, if not better than, what I find at other grocery stores in my area.

One thing I really don't like about shopping in general is this type of confusion: I need hand cream, but why are there so many kinds at different prices? Or I just want to buy a pen-- a pen, for crying out loud-- and the store has literally dozens of styles of pen in stock. Why the #$@% should I have to make a decision beyond the color?! I have walked out of stores empty-handed because I felt literally offended at being overwhelmed.

It's not that I don't like variety. It's the kind of variety that is the issue. If you don't believe me, try buying jeans, or trousers in general, with a 37-inch waist. Either buy from Lands' End or get them bespoke. Ditto a 39-inch waist. Or try buying an alarm clock... that shows the time in 24-hour format. Go to IKEA or give up. (I live in the suburbs in the northeastern US.) Or buy an analog calendar watch that actually has the day of the week change at midnight!!! Or an RPN calculator with stack height greater than 4. I might as well have unicorn flesh on my shopping list!

[charlesrh]

The first thing I thought of when I saw comic 993 was White Noise by Don DeLillo. I'm not sure if the comic is an homage or just coincidental...

Here's the quote from White Noise:

We ran into Murray Jay Siskind at the supermarket. His basket held generic food and drink, nonbrand items in plain white packages with simple labeling. There was a white can labeled CANNED PEACHES. There was a white package of bacon without a plastic window for viewing a representative slice. A jar of roasted nuts had a white wrapper bearing the words IRREGULAR PEANUTS. Murray kept nodding to Babette as I introduced them.

"This is the new austerity," he said. "Flavorless packaging. It appeals to me. I feel I'm not only saving money but contributing to some kind of spiritual consensus. Its like World War III. Everything is white. They'll take our bright colors away and use them in the war effort."

If it's an homage, I like the subtlety. If it's coincidence, I like the serendipity.

[AvatarIII]

This was tried sometime back in the '80s. The chain's house brand went away and was replaced by this generic labeling. The text was Navy blue on white and was a little wordier than this.

I vividly remember the COOKING OIL label. It said, "Suitable for most household purposes; may be reused a limited number of times."

(The label didn't have a website, though. Also, I may have inserted that semicolon where there was none before...)

The experiment didn't work too well. I know *my* mom didn't buy the generic cooking oil, anyway. Couple of years later, they restarted the house brand.

no shit

[Webzter]

Actually, it's the reverse. Most No Frills/No Name/generic brands are actually higher-end brands with simplified packaging. It's a form of price discrimination: the distributors know that higher income shoppers will buy the name brand, but lower income shoppers will balk at the inflated price. So they sell the same product as generic. Same principle as generic drugs.

This isn't universally true. For example, Ralston's is the leading manufacturer of private label cereal. They have their own plants churning out frosted flakes and fruity pebbles. They're then packaged with store branding and sold by the store right next to the General Mills stuff. These are most certainly made in different plants by different people using different (but assuredly similar) recipes.

On the issue of name-brand making generics as well.... I believe Heinz makes ketchup for Sysco and I have no doubt they make store label stuff as well. I would imagine it's very easy to slightly tweak the makeup of a mixture for a given production run, though. Make the store brand a little bit tarter, or slightly thinner, just a little different percentage mix on the spice blend and you've got a great way to reuse all of your manufacturing equipment while still protecting any perceived or real brand difference.

[Cruncher]

In Germany, the first "brand" that used a concept like this was "die Weissen" in the 80's/beginning of 90's. They had all kinds of cheap products (but still of certain quality) with only the title, the brand logo, and rudimentary information on the front:

[susanisausername]

Can you please make a shirt like this? White, and then in black it just says "shirt" on it. Or, you know, other merchandise like that.

[Age of Fable]

I used to sell badges that said 'badge', but not enough people bought them.

[Eugo]

One thing I really don't like about shopping in general is this type of confusion: I need hand cream, but why are there so many kinds at different prices? Or I just want to buy a pen-- a pen, for crying out loud-- and the store has literally dozens of styles of pen in stock. Why the #$@% should I have to make a decision beyond the color?! I have walked out of stores empty-handed because I felt literally offended at being overwhelmed.

I sense a kindred soul. I don't know how many times it happened that a simple purchase took much more time than the ten seconds that usually pass between spotting the item on the shelf and stuffing it into the cart. Even for, as you say, a simple pen - they have too many, allegedly different, pens of the same kind, but if you are looking for something you once liked, you won't find it. I once found a set of a dozen simple black gel pens which were perfect for my (remainders of) handwriting. Stress on once. Never ever found them again. I would pay five times more to have them again (i.e. $6 for a dozen instead of $1 :љ).

For anything more expensive, when the illusion of choice is too much, I generally bought nothing and went home to do some reading about the stuff. In most cases, I forgot to do it and never bought the thing. In some cases, I explicitly decided not to buy it (like a new freezer box, because it can't be operated outside if it's too cold - my old one can and it still works). In other cases, I went online and found better than what was in the store. In the remaining, perhaps 10% of cases, I went back to the store knowing what to look for.

It's not that I don't like variety. It's the kind of variety that is the issue. If you don't believe me, try buying jeans, or trousers in general, with a 37-inch waist. Either buy from Lands' End or get them bespoke. Ditto a 39-inch waist. Or try buying an alarm clock... that shows the time in 24-hour format. Go to IKEA or give up. (I live in the suburbs in the northeastern US.) Or buy an analog calendar watch that actually has the day of the week change at midnight!!! Or an RPN calculator with stack height greater than 4. I might as well have unicorn flesh on my shopping list!

Just try buying any jeans. My 1998 jeans outlasted anything I bought in the US. Twelve years later, I finally found the same brand (which is a Turkish fake of some brand, but done well).

As for the 24-hour clocks, it's been my pet peeve. I found it (in Walmart, of all places) by looking at the back of it and finally finding one that had the 12-24 switch. But the various clocks found in other kitchen appliances - no way. Forget about 24 hour day, the day has 12+12 hours, period.

Whoever says that market will provide whatever you want, only if you're willing to pay, should try to remember how many items that they used to like have vanished, or were sidetracked into boutique-like specialty shops. For one, I love knackwurst (which, IIRC, is knockwurst in the US), and was buying it regularly until about 08/09, and then it was gone. Replaced with some suspicious looking bland baloney-like sausage with even more suspicious cheese (-like reprocessed leftovers). Speaking of brand recognition in this case, I recognize only two: Smitfield (buy whenever it's on discount) and Willshire Farm (never again... tried to reheat once and it smelled of chemicals).

[addams]

This works for me instantly because I grew up in Ottawa and recognize that this has been done already in almost exactly the same way except with yellow instead of white packaging (and a bit less purism when it comes to the small print):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Name_%28brand%29

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch& ... brand+logo

In fact this touched home so exactly to my youth back in Ontario that I registered just to comment. From the text it sounds like Randall came up with the idea without ever knowing that someone did essentially exactly what he was proposing and created a well known brand for themselves with the idea decades ago. :-T

Tony O' the Kilt

So, funny. The article says that the people developed a brand loyalty to the no brand.
Humans. We are so Human!
Virus of the Mind by Brodie is a book that is so good at explaining this phenomena.

http://www.amazon.com/Virus-Mind-New-Sc ... 0963600125

No. I don't think that you should buy a copy. I read it. It was good.

6 euros? Plus shipping? I paid a lot more than that for my copy.
No. I do not have my copy anymore. Gave it to a California Girl that was passing through on her way back to New Zealand.
*************
If, you settled this argument a few pages back, then, ignore this.
Karilyn wrote:False Prophet is right. It's definitely true that the low end products are often identical to a high end brand, with a different package. The only problem goes when the generic happens to be based on a high end brand that you don't like. A common one is Ketchup. Generic Ketchup is usually Hunts, not Heinz, and some people don't like Hunts. Another one is Peanut Butter, one of the few things I buy non-generic. Generic peanut butter is usually Jif or Skippy, both of which I don't like because they are too sweet and too salty, I always pick up Peter Pan as one of the few non-generics I buy.

If you're familiar with a variety of name brands, it's often not hard to figure out which name brand your generic actually is.

I was so happy when stores started carrying generic Miracle Whip. You have to keep an close eye to figure out which ones are Mayo (usually Heilman's equivalent) and which are Miracle Whip, considering they are both frequently labeled generically as Salad Dressing (who puts miracle whip or mayo on their salad?)



You seem to be contradicting yourself. If the generics are the same as the high-end brands, then why are you saying that the ketchup, penut butter, miracle whip and whatever aren't as good as the high-end brands? I guess what you're saying is that generics are often the same as the cheapest name brands. Generic ketchup is the same as (the cheaper ketchup) Hunts, generic peanut butter is the same as (the cheaper peanut butter) Jif, etc.

For the most part, you're probably right there -- if you're going to buy Hunts, you may as well save an extra penny and buy Walmart brand or whatever.

FalseProphet, however, was suggesting that the no-frills brands were actually putting the same product as the higher-end brands into their packages. While I agree that Walmart ketchup probably tastes like Hunts ketchup, I haven't seen any evidence that they're getting them from the same factory.
*********
Not all, but, some of the products are exactly the same product. Canned vegies and fruits are an example.
1. The same fields grow the product.
2. The same human workers do the manual portions of the job.
3. The same machinery is used to package the product.
3.a.) The machinery has minor adjustments that must be made between brands.
3.a.)1. The kind of can.
3.a.)2. The way the can is sealed.
3.a.) 3 The Label.

Same stuff. Different price.
The men and women do not get more money to package the high end stuff.

Who gets that money? Well; The smart people. Right?

Yeah. I have experience.

Labels are fun. Sometimes it has so little to do with what is in the box. It is all about the box. Maxwell Parish boxes are more valuable than anything that was ever sold in one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=maxwell ... 47&bih=339

Well; The Hope Diamond in a Maxwell Parish box would leave a person with a problem. Keep them both.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond

Or; Better yet; Give them to a museum.

I had a Maxwell Parish. The artist himself touched that thing. It was, just, a thing.
They are still making prints of his work. Right?
The man was good.
I did not like all of his art. Contentment. I had Contentment. I used it every day.

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en ... vAQ&zoom=1

I have no idea what the above link links to. Good luck and keep the children and Science Majors protected.

He did the artwork for some consumer goods, way back in the day.
The box was important. Still is.

[jpk]

This works for me instantly because I grew up in Ottawa and recognize that this has been done already in almost exactly the same way except with yellow instead of white packaging (and a bit less purism when it comes to the small print):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Name_%28brand%29

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch& ... brand+logo

In fact this touched home so exactly to my youth back in Ontario that I registered just to comment. From the text it sounds like Randall came up with the idea without ever knowing that someone did essentially exactly what he was proposing and created a well known brand for themselves with the idea decades ago. :-T

Tony O' the Kilt

So, funny. The article says that the people developed a brand loyalty to the no brand.
Humans. We are so Human!
Virus of the Mind by Brodie is a book that is so good at explaining this phenomena.

http://www.amazon.com/Virus-Mind-New-Sc ... 0963600125

No. I don't think that you should buy a copy. I read it. It was good.

6 euros? Plus shipping? I paid a lot more than that for my copy.
No. I do not have my copy anymore. Gave it to a California Girl that was passing through on her way back to New Zealand.
*************
If, you settled this argument a few pages back, then, ignore this.
Karilyn wrote:False Prophet is right. It's definitely true that the low end products are often identical to a high end brand, with a different package. The only problem goes when the generic happens to be based on a high end brand that you don't like. A common one is Ketchup. Generic Ketchup is usually Hunts, not Heinz, and some people don't like Hunts. Another one is Peanut Butter, one of the few things I buy non-generic. Generic peanut butter is usually Jif or Skippy, both of which I don't like because they are too sweet and too salty, I always pick up Peter Pan as one of the few non-generics I buy.

If you're familiar with a variety of name brands, it's often not hard to figure out which name brand your generic actually is.

I was so happy when stores started carrying generic Miracle Whip. You have to keep an close eye to figure out which ones are Mayo (usually Heilman's equivalent) and which are Miracle Whip, considering they are both frequently labeled generically as Salad Dressing (who puts miracle whip or mayo on their salad?)



You seem to be contradicting yourself. If the generics are the same as the high-end brands, then why are you saying that the ketchup, penut butter, miracle whip and whatever aren't as good as the high-end brands? I guess what you're saying is that generics are often the same as the cheapest name brands. Generic ketchup is the same as (the cheaper ketchup) Hunts, generic peanut butter is the same as (the cheaper peanut butter) Jif, etc.

For the most part, you're probably right there -- if you're going to buy Hunts, you may as well save an extra penny and buy Walmart brand or whatever.

FalseProphet, however, was suggesting that the no-frills brands were actually putting the same product as the higher-end brands into their packages. While I agree that Walmart ketchup probably tastes like Hunts ketchup, I haven't seen any evidence that they're getting them from the same factory.
*********
Not all, but, some of the products are exactly the same product. Canned vegies and fruits are an example.
1. The same fields grow the product.
2. The same human workers do the manual portions of the job.
3. The same machinery is used to package the product.
3.a.) The machinery has minor adjustments that must be made between brands.
3.a.)1. The kind of can.
3.a.)2. The way the can is sealed.
3.a.) 3 The Label.

Same stuff. Different price.
The men and women do not get more money to package the high end stuff.

Who gets that money? Well; The smart people. Right?

Yeah. I have experience.

Labels are fun. Sometimes it has so little to do with what is in the box. It is all about the box. Maxwell Parish boxes are more valuable than anything that was ever sold in one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=maxwell ... 47&bih=339

Well; The Hope Diamond in a Maxwell Parish box would leave a person with a problem. Keep them both.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond

Or; Better yet; Give them to a museum.

I had a Maxwell Parish. The artist himself touched that thing. It was, just, a thing.
They are still making prints of his work. Right?
The man was good.
I did not like all of his art. Contentment. I had Contentment. I used it every day.

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en ... vAQ&zoom=1

I have no idea what the above link links to. Good luck and keep the children and Science Majors protected.

He did the artwork for some consumer goods, way back in the day.
The box was important. Still is.

I just had to respond to this to say that I was unable to make myself read this post. No matter what I did, I couldn't focus on it, my eyes just sort of slid off it. You should really get a job in espionage, this is a perfect method of steganography.

[addams]

This works for me instantly because I grew up in Ottawa and recognize that this has been done already in almost exactly the same way except with yellow instead of white packaging (and a bit less purism when it comes to the small print):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Name_%28brand%29

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch& ... brand+logo

In fact this touched home so exactly to my youth back in Ontario that I registered just to comment. From the text it sounds like Randall came up with the idea without ever knowing that someone did essentially exactly what he was proposing and created a well known brand for themselves with the idea decades ago. :-T

Tony O' the Kilt

So, funny. The article says that the people developed a brand loyalty to the no brand.
Humans. We are so Human!
Virus of the Mind by Brodie is a book that is so good at explaining this phenomena.

http://www.amazon.com/Virus-Mind-New-Sc ... 0963600125

No. I don't think that you should buy a copy. I read it. It was good.

6 euros? Plus shipping? I paid a lot more than that for my copy.
No. I do not have my copy anymore. Gave it to a California Girl that was passing through on her way back to New Zealand.
*************
If, you settled this argument a few pages back, then, ignore this.
Karilyn wrote:False Prophet is right. It's definitely true that the low end products are often identical to a high end brand, with a different package. The only problem goes when the generic happens to be based on a high end brand that you don't like. A common one is Ketchup. Generic Ketchup is usually Hunts, not Heinz, and some people don't like Hunts. Another one is Peanut Butter, one of the few things I buy non-generic. Generic peanut butter is usually Jif or Skippy, both of which I don't like because they are too sweet and too salty, I always pick up Peter Pan as one of the few non-generics I buy.

If you're familiar with a variety of name brands, it's often not hard to figure out which name brand your generic actually is.

I was so happy when stores started carrying generic Miracle Whip. You have to keep an close eye to figure out which ones are Mayo (usually Heilman's equivalent) and which are Miracle Whip, considering they are both frequently labeled generically as Salad Dressing (who puts miracle whip or mayo on their salad?)



You seem to be contradicting yourself. If the generics are the same as the high-end brands, then why are you saying that the ketchup, penut butter, miracle whip and whatever aren't as good as the high-end brands? I guess what you're saying is that generics are often the same as the cheapest name brands. Generic ketchup is the same as (the cheaper ketchup) Hunts, generic peanut butter is the same as (the cheaper peanut butter) Jif, etc.

For the most part, you're probably right there -- if you're going to buy Hunts, you may as well save an extra penny and buy Walmart brand or whatever.

FalseProphet, however, was suggesting that the no-frills brands were actually putting the same product as the higher-end brands into their packages. While I agree that Walmart ketchup probably tastes like Hunts ketchup, I haven't seen any evidence that they're getting them from the same factory.
*********
Not all, but, some of the products are exactly the same product. Canned vegies and fruits are an example.
1. The same fields grow the product.
2. The same human workers do the manual portions of the job.
3. The same machinery is used to package the product.
3.a.) The machinery has minor adjustments that must be made between brands.
3.a.)1. The kind of can.
3.a.)2. The way the can is sealed.
3.a.) 3 The Label.

Same stuff. Different price.
The men and women do not get more money to package the high end stuff.

Who gets that money? Well; The smart people. Right?

Yeah. I have experience.

Labels are fun. Sometimes it has so little to do with what is in the box. It is all about the box. Maxwell Parish boxes are more valuable than anything that was ever sold in one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=maxwell ... 47&bih=339

Well; The Hope Diamond in a Maxwell Parish box would leave a person with a problem. Keep them both.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond

Or; Better yet; Give them to a museum.

I had a Maxwell Parish. The artist himself touched that thing. It was, just, a thing.
They are still making prints of his work. Right?
The man was good.
I did not like all of his art. Contentment. I had Contentment. I used it every day.

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en ... vAQ&zoom=1

I have no idea what the above link links to. Good luck and keep the children and Science Majors protected.

He did the artwork for some consumer goods, way back in the day.
The box was important. Still is.

I just had to respond to this to say that I was unable to make myself read this post. No matter what I did, I couldn't focus on it, my eyes just sort of slid off it. You should really get a job in espionage, this is a perfect method of steganography.

Nah. Just, click the links until you slip into a restful sleep.
You are the intended audience.

When you wake up, you will be a chicken.

[cjmcjmcjmcjm]

Where can I get a generic brand of the 'shrooms you've been smoking?

[pyeastman11]

In the 1970s in Maine, there was an actual store brand that did this exact thing. Unfortunately, the quality was also crap and people stopped buying it.

[jpk]

In the 1970s in Maine, there was an actual store brand that did this exact thing. Unfortunately, the quality was also crap and people stopped buying it.

What, sold generic 'shrooms?

[cjmcjmcjmcjm]

In the 1970s in Maine, there was an actual store brand that did this exact thing. Unfortunately, the quality was also crap and people stopped buying it.

What, sold generic 'shrooms?

If they sold crap 'shrooms, they deserved to go bankrupt.

[Ronsonic]

This whole thread is about a concept which for me is rather emotionally charged.

Perhaps because of my Asperger syndrome, I become easily overwhelmed. Also, I have a rather short attention span for things such as grocery stores, and I have a very low tolerance for what I consider stupid behavior.

I don't give a damn about name brands. I shop at ALDI because they don't use gimmicks (beyond the prices ending in "9"). No coupons, no loyalty cards or similar crap. I might have seen a "buy one, get one XX% off" type deal once or twice, but that's about the limit of it. And the prices are low and the food seems to me as good as, if not better than, what I find at other grocery stores in my area.

I too am an Aldi shopper. Good stuff, cheap prices, no BS.

One thing I really don't like about shopping in general is this type of confusion: I need hand cream, but why are there so many kinds at different prices? Or I just want to buy a pen-- a pen, for crying out loud-- and the store has literally dozens of styles of pen in stock. Why the #$@% should I have to make a decision beyond the color?! I have walked out of stores empty-handed because I felt literally offended at being overwhelmed.

There is a reason for that. Different price points and quality and different pens for different purposes and hands. Just grab the first one that appeals to you and go

It's not that I don't like variety. It's the kind of variety that is the issue. If you don't believe me, try buying jeans, or trousers in general, with a 37-inch waist. Either buy from Lands' End or get them bespoke. Ditto a 39-inch waist.

Now this one is simply silly. If for no other reason than that vanity sizing is now the norm and jeans do not match the number on the label. You want 39s, then get a pair of 34 "Relaxed Fit".

Yeah, it's stupid.

[jawshoeaw]

Repo Man

[Davidy]

My favorites

[bmonk]

Can you please make a shirt like this? White, and then in black it just says "shirt" on it. Or, you know, other merchandise like that.

I always wanted a cap (white) with something generic on it. I'm torn between "CAP" and "SEED"