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April 21, 2006
How teenager's create identity - branding
Just like companies and products, when you are a teenager trying to "discover yourself" it is all about branding. And the latest is the merge of the military style and hip-hip bling-bling - the dog tag. From today's Washington Post - "Teenage Passions, Writ Small":
Earlier generations draped themselves in silver or gold heart-shaped lockets, earnestly sentimental neckwear that enclosed a person's most private thoughts or relationships. Now, the modern-day locket, as worn by teenagers, young adults and the hip-hop avatars they parrot, has taken the shape of a military dog tag, but the inscriptions and images are hardly discreet.
Befitting an age in which teenagers are glomming onto just about any inanimate object for self-branding -- think cell phones, custom-made Nike sneakers and, sigh , Myspace.com -- personalized dog tags are just another avenue for self-advertisement, a way for young people to feel like celebrities even if their stratosphere is hemmed in by lunch bells and school bus schedules.
. . .
Teenagers get the dog tags mainly from kiosks at local shopping malls, where they can pick out their favorite image from a catalog or bring in photographs for engraving. The process can take a half-hour or so and can be as inexpensive as $30.
But sometimes, kids buy name-brand dog tags from Icedoutgear.com or Ecko Unlimited that are 18-karat white gold-plated or stainless steel. (Gucci sells an 18-karat white gold-plated dog tag necklace with diamonds -- for about $2,500.)
But, just like the teenage years are fleeting, so are the branding techniques used by teenagers.
To cultural observers such as Minya Oh, the author of a recent book on hip-hop jewelry titled "Bling Bling: Hip Hop's Crown Jewels" and a radio show host on New York's Hot 97, the emergence of dog tags in the high school scene is a harbinger that the fad could be coming to an end.
"It's completely played out. I've seen the next thing," Oh said. "I am seeing a lot of talented independent jewelers making sneaker-related jewelry or DJ-related jewelry. Like replicas of speakers around your necks."
Maybe that is why we call these "intangibles."
Posted by Ken Jarboe at April 21, 2006 9:16 AM
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