Branding

I understand the power of branding. I still remember it in the classes of marketing I took back in university.

But how far can branding really go?

At what point does it move from being the "mark of quality" to being a way of tricking suckers out of their money?

I found an example of the latter the other day after having had a nice steak with Kieran during our lunch break. On our way back to the office, we walked past a store that was selling a water pipe. It wasn't just any water pipe though, it was a "Porsche" water pipe.

Who would buy this?

Does the Porsche brand really carry that much swagger that they are now deemed to be the most trusted and true makers of water pipes?

It all seems a bit much for me.