How long have we seen people proudly showing off their Hydro Flasks and Stanley Tumblers? Do you associate a certain group of people with these brands? These brands are some of many “cult brands”, meaning that they have loyal customers invested in their popularity and success, especially given that the personality of these customers can be shaped or influenced by the brand.
Many easily identifiable cult brands nowadays are in the form of water bottles and tumblers. The Hydro Flask became extremely popular in 2019 and remains expensive and loved by many. This brand is associated with the girls who are extraverted and vibrant. It is well accepted among Gen Z that those who have a Hydro Flask are (mostly) emotionally attached to it. Since 2022, the Stanley Tumbler has taken over the world by storm, and many of its users are mums or women who aspire to be mums of a certain aesthetic – chances are, these women wear a Lululemon jacket to the gym, drive a Range Rover, are active on TikTok, and are EXTREMELY hydrated.
Have we really reached the point where people’s personalities can be predicted through a water bottle brand? Before the rise of social media, people were not able to predict other people’s personalities except by actually interacting with them, and there weren’t as many overt techniques of doing so compared to the ones we have nowadays (with cult brands being one). Water bottles are, of course, not the only things that can be used to predict the personality of their owner. Two very well-known cult brands are the Mini Cooper and the FIAT 500, loved by many women in their 20s for being tiny and having nice pastel colours.Â
Although it is easy to have these markers of one’s personality right in front of our eyes, it could be indicative of something much more. One thing that all of these brands have in common is the fact that they are more expensive than other brands, which means that access to these brands can only be achieved by certain people, which can come across to others as a means to show off one’s financial status. Nevertheless, the people who use these brands purely for practical reasons are subject to the stereotypes surrounding this trend, meaning that they may be pigeonholed into an identity or financial status that’s not a true representative of who they are. This is why the idea of cult brands predicting personalities may sound great in theory (particularly from a marketing perspective), but serves as a disadvantage for many people who are unaware of these stereotypes or just simply want to purchase a product they genuinely like.Â
The concept of cult brands may sound ridiculous to some, but they have been around long before we could notice them, which is why they are deeply embedded in our lives, and the brands we shop from. In a capitalist world where brands can be used to indicate one’s status, having cult brands is not a surprising phenomenon. However, what is surprising is the fact that one can so easily conjure up a certain archetype in their heads when the name of a brand is mentioned. But does this actually simplify our lives or make them more dull by robbing us of the mystery of people’s personalities and the joy of unravelling them slowly?
How long have we seen people proudly showing off their Hydro Flasks and Stanley Tumblers? Do you associate a certain group of people with these brands? These brands are some of many “cult brands”, meaning that they have loyal customers invested in their popularity and success, especially given that the personality of these customers can be shaped or influenced by the brand.
Many easily identifiable cult brands nowadays are in the form of water bottles and tumblers. The Hydro Flask became extremely popular in 2019 and remains expensive and loved by many. This brand is associated with the girls who are extraverted and vibrant. It is well accepted among Gen Z that those who have a Hydro Flask are (mostly) emotionally attached to it. Since 2022, the Stanley Tumbler has taken over the world by storm, and many of its users are mums or women who aspire to be mums of a certain aesthetic – chances are, these women wear a Lululemon jacket to the gym, drive a Range Rover, are active on TikTok, and are EXTREMELY hydrated.
Have we really reached the point where people’s personalities can be predicted through a water bottle brand? Before the rise of social media, people were not able to predict other people’s personalities except by actually interacting with them, and there weren’t as many overt techniques of doing so compared to the ones we have nowadays (with cult brands being one). Water bottles are, of course, not the only things that can be used to predict the personality of their owner. Two very well-known cult brands are the Mini Cooper and the FIAT 500, loved by many women in their 20s for being tiny and having nice pastel colours.Â
Although it is easy to have these markers of one’s personality right in front of our eyes, it could be indicative of something much more. One thing that all of these brands have in common is the fact that they are more expensive than other brands, which means that access to these brands can only be achieved by certain people, which can come across to others as a means to show off one’s financial status. Nevertheless, the people who use these brands purely for practical reasons are subject to the stereotypes surrounding this trend, meaning that they may be pigeonholed into an identity or financial status that’s not a true representative of who they are. This is why the idea of cult brands predicting personalities may sound great in theory (particularly from a marketing perspective), but serves as a disadvantage for many people who are unaware of these stereotypes or just simply want to purchase a product they genuinely like.Â
The concept of cult brands may sound ridiculous to some, but they have been around long before we could notice them, which is why they are deeply embedded in our lives, and the brands we shop from. In a capitalist world where brands can be used to indicate one’s status, having cult brands is not a surprising phenomenon. However, what is surprising is the fact that one can so easily conjure up a certain archetype in their heads when the name of a brand is mentioned. But does this actually simplify our lives or make them more dull by robbing us of the mystery of people’s personalities and the joy of unravelling them slowly?