Q 1. Watch the video on branding. 2. Brands are important, and may be a company's most precious asset. However, over time, products may become generic showing very little differentiation; like cereals for example. This is why branding is crucial in differentiating products. When competition is intense, all products soon offer functional advantages: me-too products or follow-the-leader strategies. Accordingly, the only sustainable advantage is brand image. Some researchers argue that anything can be branded—even something as plain as pasta, like Barilla and Butoni. Do you agree with this statement? And why? 3. Marketing can render a brand name generic i.e., it becomes a household name for any equivalent product. Think Google, Aspirin, Kleenex, and Band-Aid. How can the company that owns the brand differentiate its product in its marketing message? Does Bayer for example need to reestablish Aspirin as the brand, and not the product?