Blessed Assurance: LEGO and Its Imitators Don't Make "The Same Thing"

The holidays are behind us, and no doubt many parents uttered many curses after stepping on many LEGO bricks over the last few weeks. Compared to their competitors and imitators, LEGO bricks command a handsome premium.

Why? Is it because people are easily manipulated by slick advertising and legacy brand names? Doubtful. If you've ever bought one of those little plane sets made by Best-Lock at an airport shop, you know that LEGO is a great example of an extremely informative brand name. LEGO is, quite simply, head and shoulders above the rest in terms of durability and quality control. The brand name provides quality assurance. It's why we're willing to buy candy from strangers.

As I wrote in an article for AIER a few years ago,

Are logos and brand names clever ways marketers manipulate irrational people into paying too much for something? Or do they do something more? I used to think they were just ways of manipulating people. I used to believe I was very wise for quoting Henry David Thoreau: “Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.” Then, after studying economics, I started to understand what brand names do. Social phenomena persist because they solve problems, and brand names solve significant information problems.

As eBay tells you, "buy with confidence." You can when a trustworthy brand name provides blessed assurance.