Idea for August 2022: bazaar economy

My idea of the month is the bazaar economy

…which, according to anthropologists, predated the brand economy. But, according to the fascinating book, Cultures of Commodity Branding, edited by Andrew Bevan, branded economies go way further back than you’d think. Back, for example, to seals used in packaging products in Mesopotamia around 7000 BC. The anthropologist’s angle is fascinating, seeing branding then (and now) as an example of ‘ritual transformation’ from mundane product to something much more valuable.

My image of the month is the same thing 9000 years later

Here’s Tesco using the imagery of a seal to signal quality and taste … and that little bit of mystique that turns a commodity into a branded product.