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Do we all remember Dr. No in the James Bond novel? Wasn't a very nice person, was he? His name was chosen for sinister overtones and because everyone reacts negatively to negativity. No?
It's the same in the photo game and on the shelves of the camera shop. N0-name is not going to do you any good. It hasn't done the amateurs any good and it won't improve matters for professionals, either. Consider the case of the no-name off-brand products that used to be sold in Aden in the 60's.
Aden was the stopping point at the bottom of the Red Sea where emigrant liners to Australia from Britain would call in to give their passengers a chance to be fleeced. Decades of 'em streamed into the shops and bazaars to be sold electrical and photographic goods - and presumably brass ware, rugs, and native daggers. The brass ware, rugs, and daggers may have been local products but the electrical goods and the slide projectors were from the recesses of Hong Kong or Taiwan and were likely to have been sent out as ballast.
They were sold to the unwary with little regard to actual function or electrical safety. The Sodmi Special camera that the buyer tried to use after the ship had sailed, only to find that it had no lens, was somewhat of a disappointment. The Bargainchrome film likewise, as it tore off the spool after the 4th exposure. These could be appreciated on the voyage through the Indian Ocean and probably made for a pretty spectacle as they were tossed into the ship's wake. But it was only upon arrival in Fremantle that the slide projectors were truly appreciated.
The Kerboom-O-Matic projector was probably a good choice for places that had the 6v DC mains supply that it was rated for. Western Australia having 240-260v AC, on the other hand, meant that Slide Night was an exciting affair for only a short period of time.
Had the Ten-Pounder waited until they got here, and gone to Halse, or Alfred's, or Wizard, or Plaza...or...dare I say it...come to see Ron, they would have come away with a perfectly safe Hanimex, Bell and Howell, Aldis, Kindermann, or any one of a dozen projectors that would not have killed them or burned down the migrant hostel.
No-name is a No No. Buy quality goods from an established retailer. Buy it with an Australian warranty. Or wear oven gloves when you turn it on...
Oh? I didn't fulfil my promise of yesterday to tell you how to assure your brand name is a success? Perhaps tomorrow...
