I read labels and believe Heston

A recent advertisement for a sweet chocolate dairy drink labelled ‘kill hungry thirsty dead’ prompted in me a whole cascade of questions.

Perhaps this aggressive marketing approach was an opportunity to reclaim the market, the company had been through some challenging times.

I am not tempted, the label shouted out too loud for me but no doubt it will appeal to some.  I wonder why, when we think about it a bit more?

We are in the middle of a diabetic crisis. Even eye surgeon, Dr James Muecke, has vowed to use his platform as Australian of the Year to advocate for measures to tackle preventable blindness caused by diabetes – including a tax on sugary drinks.

The demand for plant-based milk is increasing as consumers look to healthy options or simply reject modern dairy farming practises where cows might never see the sun.

For me the most important aspect is the words, including the emotions carried in them. I write in my book ‘The Logo Decoded’, about Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto’s work. He discovered when he labelled a vial of water with the word love, the water, when frozen, formed beautiful snowflake structures. Conversely, an identical vial of water labelled with hate and anger resulted in disjointed, unattractive blobby shapes. Milk is a liquid; what are we actually trying to digest when the product is labelled with ‘kill and dead’?

I have also pointed out in my book the folly of eating a burger named Angry Whopper and even smoking cigarettes labelled with the most horrendous pictures of suffering. We ingest these intentions.

Heston Blumenthal writes in the latest Waitrose magazine. “Our thoughts and emotions are vibrations…We’ve done experiments with three jars of rice, same water. Each morning you give one jar positive intent, gratitude and love. The other jar you say you hate it, you can’t eat it, you make me sick, and the third jar you ignore.” The rice with the gratitude has ‘golden water’, ‘smells slightly floral’, ‘fermented’, ‘sweet’. The one given abuse is like an ‘overripe stinking cheese’ and the one ignored even worse.

I have stressed the importance of preparing food with care and love. I also believe that the words and intention in the logos we wear can also affect us.

On the other hand, there is an energy drink named Mother, such a powerful archetype to evoke, and a plethora of brands citing ‘made with love’, including a rather nice chocolate stamped with hearts. But it is the intention that matters. Are ‘Happy Meals’ made with more love and care than an ‘Angry Whopper’?

Branding is personal. I think it is worth exploring what really adds value to our lives.