“Branding” can be traced back to the earliest mass produced items, clay pots. These products discovered in the Mediterranean region display the simple identifying logo or signature of the craftsman. Farmers branded their herds. Wide-scale use of brand names is a late 19th and 20th century phenomenon. The Industrial revolution brought packaged goods into a large number of households, which led to the creation of brand names.

The Trademark Act of 1905 gave birth to modern day brand names. The monumental act enabled companies to pursue their desires of establishing their brand name.

Long established manufacturer have permanently established themselves in our countries history. Manufacturers of packaged goods were faced by one major obstacle: how to make consumers trust a non-local product? Branding allowed companies like Campbell soup and Uncle Ben to familiarize consumers with their product and convey a sense of trust.

Coca-Cola, Sunlight soap, American Express traveler's cheques, Quaker Oats, and Kodak film are perennial brands that have stood the test of time. The first advertising agencies, J Walter Thompson and NW Ayer, sprung up in the late 19th. Many methods started to employed like jingles, mascots, and slogans via television and radio commercials.

During World War II, civilian’s tightened their belts to help the war effort. All products bought by consumers were necessities. Women donated their silk undergarments towards the fabrications of parachutes. Owning more than one pair of trousers and shoes was unheard of.

The end of the war brought on the age of the modern consumer. Television, radio, and print allowed brands to take root. The rising middle class had access to more money. They were ripe for the public relation techniques that brought a sophistication unheard of in a market dominated with jingles. Edward Louis Bernays, Sigmund Freud’s nephew, applied his uncle’s psychology of the subconscious to marketing campaigns. The emotions connected to brands became broader. For instance, Bernays successfully portrayed smoking a certain brand of cigarettes as liberating for woman.

The 80s brought on “brand equity mania”. Brand names would drive up the cost of buying a company. Philip Morris payed six times the worth of Kraft because food and beverage company maintained an internationally trusted brand, which helps the public image of the world’s largest tobacco corporations.

During the late 90s, a small anti-globalization movement argued that brands wielded too much power and inflicted grave damage to global society. Major publications, especially The Economist, squashed the movement by labeling it childish. It argued that brands are the cornerstone of globalization and have an enormous effect on all nations social and economic development. Brands must maintain their reputation (corporate value), which requires corporations to behave. Brands exist because people demand them. A brand is not simply a cute little logo and catchy one-liners. Those are the superficial assets of what makes up a brand name.