THROUGH THE PAST COMMERCIALLY
The Museum of Brands, Packaging, and Advertisements
Hidden in a
little cul-de-sac just of the Portobello Road in Notting Hill there sits a time
machine. This takes the form of a museum, the Museum of Brands. To enter it is
to engage with a reality that is with us all the time but which we barely
notice, the world of product brands. If music provides a soundtrack to our
lives, then Brands and advertising provide part of the scenery. Ever since the mid
years of the 19th Century, advertising has been a ubiquitous feature
of daily life. *Though its form and effectiveness has evolved over the years it
still consists of the basic seduction of; ‘I’m
what your life needs, I’m the best/most economic product, buying me is a
statement about you.’
He's got an Ology, you can go places with an Ology |
Of course the
Museum also deals with the period long before TV, and indeed radio advertising,
when newspapers provided the primary means to deliver the message. Though as
early as the 1860’s billboards were becoming commonplace. Brand image, brand
loyalty, appeals to snobbery and one-upmanship, all date from this period. By
the turn of the century our lives were already being shaped and defined by the
commercial products we chose. The age of the ‘Brand’ was born.
Museum of Brands Advertising and Packaging, 2 Colville Mews, Lonsdale Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2AR http://www.museumofbrands.com/about-us/
Museum of Brands Advertising and Packaging, 2 Colville Mews, Lonsdale Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2AR http://www.museumofbrands.com/about-us/
* When Peter Ustinov's mother arrived in England travelling by train from the south coast, escaping from the Russian Revolution, she could not understand why all the stations were called Bovril.