When we travel to a foreign country, we eagerly look for new experiences, expressions, tastes and smells and, although we are not always conscious of them, commercial icons often mark an essential part of that experience.
Local brands are an integral part of local culture and for the past few decades, many of our commercial icons have been endangered by globalisation.
The anthropologist Grant McCracken has argued that people turn to their consumer goods not only as “bundles of utility” but also as “bundles of meaning” with which to fashion who they are and the world in which they live.
Isn’t nostalgia a fine thing? There is an argument for holding on to some of our most enduring signatures, as a reminder of all that we are in danger of losing.
So here’s an invitation to hark back to a more mellow time. What we are looking for is a perfectly formed story in only 450 words.
Don’t forget Hemingway’s example, oft quoted by teachers, of a perfect story composed of only six words he gleaned from a newspaper advertisement: “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”
Send us your story (no more than 450 words) to reflect a warmer time to include a Power’s whiskey to be in with chance of winning €10,000.
For online entries go to irishtimes.com/competitions/powers.
For postal entries, send in your entry with your name, email address and telephone numbers to Powers Competition, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2.
The closing date is Friday, June 3rd, 2011.
For full terms and conditions email marketing@irishtimes.com.
