Why a Fake is a Good Thing
Have you heard the call? It’s out there and it’s saying ‘subscribe!’, ‘Subscribe!’, ‘SUBSCRIBE!’. It seems kind of wrong to ignore it, doesn't it?
This week’s Good Thing starts in the shower.
Every morning, as the hot water comes streaming through the pipes and onto my head, I glance at the shower rack and smile. It’s not a big smile, but more of a grin.
As I look across the various products, it begins with the TRESemmé shampoo. It’s a distinctive black bottle and the brand is widely known. I suspect it’s also one of those brands that started out being ‘for the salons’ before they realised the real money was in being ‘for the supermarkets’. But that’s not what makes me smile. Because next to it is another bottle. It’s the same size and shape as the other one, only it’s white to indicate it’s the conditioner sibling of the shampoo. But there’s something different about it. The brand looks like TRESemmé, but the label says HairTresses.
It’s the fake version from ALDI.
And it makes me smile.
There was a time when I would have rallied against this. ‘It's copyright infringement’, I would say. I even remember walking through an ALDI aisle many years ago and just being annoyed at my favourite brands being so brutally imitated. But then, of course, I realised that the only way that any of this could be legal is if the brands were in on it. And if they're not in on it, maybe it's time to change that.
And all that makes me smile too.
Because while I'm not entirely sure that rampant dog-eat-dog capitalism, specifically the kind with the $Trillion profits, is quite the way the future needs to go, but if we’re stuck with it then at the very least brands could start taking themselves a little less seriously. And ALDI’s fake brands are a good source of inspiration for this.
We live in a very serious world. There are serious issues and serious elections and serious pandemics, so anything even a little tongue-in-cheek is cause for celebration. And while a couple of hair products might not be the most joyous things in the world, anything that can get our attention and give us a smile is worth celebrating.
And that, is why a Fake is a very Good Thing.
You don't have to purchase ALDI products, but it's difficult not to appreciate them.
Everything is serious, so a hilarious fake could be what breaks the spell.
Sometimes a fake can lead to something better or, at least, something more entertaining. More on that after the squiggle.
Can-do attitude
Let me tell you a quick story.
United Kingdom brewery Brewdog have a beloved beer called the Punk IPA.
ALDI recently released a beer called the Anti-establishment IPA with a very similar label.
Brewdog responded by creating a beer called the YALDI IPA in ALDI’s own distinct branding.
ALDI offered to stock the Brewdog beer in its UK supermarkets.
A very unexpected win from two companies simply making the best of a fake. I’m totally expecting to see soon a newsletter titled ‘Is a Great Item’.
Did you enjoy (is a) Good Thing?
Hit the button below and get all of this Good Thing goodness delivered to your inbox every Tuesday*.
*Why Tuesday? Because on Monday it seems like you’re riding high from the weekend, on Wednesday you’re already over the hump, and on Thursday and Friday you may as well be on the weekend. But Tuesday, well Tuesday is the day you need a boost. And (is a) Good Thing is just the thing to do that boosting.
Got a Good Thing worth sharing?
Are you a person, cat, or hamster, with something good on your mind? Would you like to see it shared in a bigger and brighter way in stylish yellow branding? Hit me up with your suggestions, and you might just see your Good Thing appearing on one of these emails.