Brent Clanfield Post #5

On-Brand v.s. Off-Brand is something that many people debate over when they go to the store.

You could buy the cheap off-brand cheerios, but instead you buy the more expensive on-brand Cheerios because that yellow box makes them taste better. Now, the difference in prices between these two isn't large, but it could save you a few dollars here and there.

Now, you walk down the medicine aisle. You have Tylenol on your list so you grab the bright red box with the bold white lettering. 225 500mg Extra Strength Tylenol caplets. They are even on sale for $15.89! What a great deal. As you put the box in you cart, you notice that there's a bottle of 500 500mg extra strength caplets of something called acetaminophen. All for a nice cheap price of $7.39. Too bad Tylenol isn't that cheap.

I feel this is what some people must think as they walk down the aisle. It is startling to me that a bottle of the same exact pills, with the same exact 500mg of acetaminophen, that has more than double the amount of pills, is more than half the price. It makes me wonder why this is. I hypothesize that it's because when you think of a pain killer, you think of Tylenol. You rarely say, "My back hurts. Anyone have some acetaminophen?" Instead, you ask for Tylenol. So, I wonder if some people simply buy the more expensive pills because that is all they know. Or, is it that people buy the more expensive, on-brand pills because they feel it works better? The truth is that it has the same exact active ingredient, and the same amount of it, as the off-brand. It is not like off-brand food, which usually has different ingredients. It is wild how great marketing and branding can allow you to sell less pills for more money.