Brand Loyalty

They originally didn't carry any branded stuff and now they do, because we are brand loyal fools

Yeah, I can actually vouch for something like that because I've had the same experience myself years ago. My sister used to eat, what I seem to recall, were Dunnes Stores own cornflakes. She gave me a bowl without me knowing where they came from and I immediately tasted that something was off. Checked the date on the milk, it was fine. Then asked how long the cornflakes were sitting there. They were in date. She then told me that they weren't Kellogg's and that she had X brand in the house.

Definitely worth paying extra for Kellogg's Corn Flakes. I can tell them apart from Tesco and Dunnes versions straightaway.

The Lidl version of Weetabix is awful too.

How to people that think brand loyalty is "for morons" (and then bizarrely name a brand they're loyal to) feel about Irish beef?

I think you’re overthinking it and falling in to some snobbery here. 

Some people drive Caterham Sevens that are seriously personalised, from tyres, suspension, tuning etc... They don’t spit at people who drive similarly priced normal cars or consider them inferior or clueless. They don’t sneer and laugh at people that don’t appreciate naturally aspirated engines or drive front wheel drive cars. 

Some people just like different things to you, they’re not into brand snobbery and apple products suit them fine.

Who told you that? and... out of interest, what brand cars do you buy brand new for cash?

As someone who worked for 8 years fixing android and Apple phones. I use Apple. I understand they’re locked down quite a bit but then again everything works like it’s supposed to. I’m still constantly having to fix software issues on my dad’s android and his partners android phone. Infuriating operating system in my opinion. Both phones jammed with bloatware and all sorts. I hear the pixel is good. But android lost the race in my opinion many years ago. The OS is just unpredictable at the best of times and that comes with its relaxed rules on what certain apps can and can’t do.

Each to their own as they say.

Some people like certain food brands because they've used them for years and like the taste, so a slightly higher cost is not an issue. Some own label products are fine but like other posters, our family prefer the taste of many well known brands that have been sold in irish supermarkets for decades.

No need for some posters to label people morons because of how they choose to spend their family food budget 😏.

Butter is a good example.

I know an ex-manager of a butter packing plant. This is from over 10+ years ago, before Kerrygold production was centralised.

Sticks of butter would come down the line, some wrapped in SuperValu packaging, some to be wrapped in Kerrygold wrapper.

Exact same butter, two different wrappers, different marketing, and very different prices.

But the same cows.

I worked on a milk packaging line and everything Gueze said rings the same. Same milk gone through the same processes from the same cows put in the same cartons but different labels and price points.

I've recently moved to an iPhone after years with Android. I find my years-old OnePlus 6 better than my iPhone 15 pro, but my desire to get away from Google (privacy) means I'll be staying with Apple.

Some things I don't like about my iPhone:

• iPhone is thick, shaped like a brick. The OnePlus was slimmer, with a curved back that fitted better in the pocket
• My years-old OnePlus still has a longer-lasting battery than the new iPhone.
• iPhone/IOS has no standard back button
• iPhone has limited widgets available (and no transparency from what I can tell)
• I loved "Tasker" on Android to automate phone behaviours like automatically switching to vibrate when I'm physically in the office during specified hours. iPhone has "Shortcuts" which is similar but not nearly as powerful.
• IOS has poor customisation compared to Android.
• Not a fan of the Apple "action button" to silence the phone. Oneplus had a 3-position switch between normal/vibrate/silent. I preferred that.
• No side-loading of apps on Apple, although I think I heard this is changing?
• No access to the Apple filesystem (that I could find anyway). While specific areas (iCloud, pictures) can be browsed or shared, I liked being able to browse the Android filesystem and create folders where I like.

Despite those reasons (and some might not be true, maybe I just haven't seen the features yet), I'm happy to stick with Apple for privacy reasons. In fairness, the apple has certain advantages over my Android too.

have heard the same from someone who worked for one of the big two tea companys

If you're buying a particular product because you like the taste, that's an entirely different matter to buying something simply because of a brand name.

I'm not an Apple fanboy, I don't like iPhones/ iPads but having worked in graphic design for over 20 years, I can say hand on heart that Macs are far superior to PCs for creative work. It's nothing to do with their marketing, it's from personal experience. I find that they can handle really large files without crashing. A Mac Pro is a beast of a computer and it's very pricey, but if you need a reliable computer that can handle big files, then it's perfect. I also like the Mac OS which is odd because I hate the iPhone/ iPad OS!

Worked on both for years. Apple is better I'm afraid, even with your loyalty to windows, you'd appreciate it if you worked in the area. That's why they're used in ad agencies and creative departments worldwide.

This kind of legacy thinking has been consigned to the bin years ago. There's nothing a mac can do that a PC can't with regards to graphic design or multimedia.

This kind of attitude went out with the 386.

Brands mean absolutely nothing to me, buy purely off quality and value. Have had both Apple and Android tech. Shop in Aldi/Lidl 99% of the time.

There are certain branded products I buy purely because I like the taste of them eg. Carlsberg (I know most won't agree on the tatse). However if they doubled their prices I'd become a Heineken man fairly quickly.

I used to repair iPhones . I would never buy one after that. I buy the cheaper chinese phones now. It's all in your head I'm afraid.

They tried it once, google “new coke”

it didn’t go well.

These threads come up all the time and the OP always has these:

Heinz Ketchup

Hellman's Mayonnaise

Heinz Beans.

just don't get why people think first of all that these are quality products or the best in their class. If you must buy them then Irish brands like Chef or Bachelors are probably better but can people stop holding these 3 items up as vital foodstuffs.

Have you tried Ballymaloe Mayonnaise? It gives Hellman's a run for its money Murph.

I'm afraid you're argument is unconvincing and your post history never mentions working in the creative realm so I'm going to refrain from taking your advice. Myself and millions of other designers, art directors, photographers etc... will continue using Macs! I'm sorry it bothers you and thanks for the advice!