One of these shoes is designed by a billionaire antisemitic rapper with a god complex, and retails for £400. The other is a Temu knockoff that costs a tenner. Can you tell which is which, just by looking at the photos?
Ok, maybe you can. But that’s probably as much a result of Temu’s photography as it is product design. And anyway, does it matter? They both look stupid and were almost certainly made in the same dystopian Chinese factory by prematurely arthritic workers.
The point is, people are often willing to pay through the nose for something crap when it’s endorsed by a celebrity, and so we end up with nonsense like these Yeezy Foam Runners or Gwyneth’s vagina-scented candle.
And, the rich get richer.
Which brings me to a press release that slithered into my inbox yesterday. Conor McGregor has announced that ‘his’ Irish Stout, ‘Forged’ has sprouted a set of leathery wings and flown like a heavily marketed Nazgul from his local pub and out into the wider world. It is, apparently, now available across the bar UK-wide.
I find Conor McGregor repellent, but this is a subjective opinion. I also find UFC and the fact we still view ritualized, real-world violence as entertainment repellent, but this too is a subjective opinion. However, it’s an objective fact that dishing out violence has netted McGregor a personal net worth of £200m, which is a lot of money. Personally, I don’t think he needs more money, and certainly not for simply slapping his name on a product that someone else made.
So, instead of selling Forged and stuffing more money into fuckface’s Coutts account, which will also have the side effect of attracting the sort of person who likes Conor McGregor to your venue, why not consider an Irish Stout from one of these brewers instead:
- Around The Clock Barrel Age Imperial Stout – Porterhouse Brew Co.
- Black Rock Irish Stout – Dungarvan Brewing Company
- Beamish Irish Stout – Beamish & Crawford