generic tm

Here is something that has bothered me for some time, although it's really gotten to me since my foray into motherhood (where it seems to proliferate): Re-branding.

What I'm talking about is the branding of things that were once generic - or at least sported their own trade mark - and are now marketed with the help of some other brand, most commonly from a TV show or movie.

It really got to me this past Valentine's Day, when I went shopping for some Valentine's Day cards to distribute from Oliver. Since he was only 8.5 months old, I thought something puppy dog themed, or teddy bear, or, I don't know, simple and cutsie, would be appropriate. All I could find, in the boxed card section anyway, was Blues Clues, Shrek, Spiderman, Elmo, Dora the Explorer, and some violent looking space superhero guys that I never heard of but I'm pretty certain they're from a TV show.

It took me forever to find crib bedding I liked. While there were other factors in this conundrum, I had to sort through an inordinate amount of Disney, Winnie-the-Pooh (more Disney), and Nickelodeon characters.

Pre-baby, I went out game board shopping. Just try and buy an old classic, new from the store. Everything is now "CSI" Clue, "Sopranos" Monopoly, "Lost" Risk, etc. All I wanted was just a plain old board game where it's about the game, not the TV tie-in.

Is anybody else bovvered by this??

I've contemplated why this is the trend. Is it because these things don't make enough money on their own and therefore need the sponsorship of a bigger name? Or is it because companies are all turning into conglomerates and own everything and therefore find this extra advertising advantageous? To me, it cheapens things. It's like, "how much money can we make off our interests?" While of course anything that's being sold is supposed to turn a profit, there was a time when the companies weren't so obvious about it. I miss that time.

If I was more influential, I'd try to start a movement, a boycott, of re-branded products. And whether or not anybody follows, I myself will make every effort to buy books with the pre-movie release covers, toys that are collectible for their coolness, not movie tie-in and food that is marketed on taste and quality, not a big, green, cartoon character movie star and his cartoon cohorts.

There. I feel better already.

barenaked babies

I know someday he'll cringe with embarrassment, but right now he's hardly going to stop me from posting these sweet (and modest) naked baby pictures online. It's a right of passage I think every baby has to endure (not the online part, but the picture taking and showing to friends - and, later, girlfriends - part).

Bath time:









Apres bath: