Humans, not Brands
Clarification: Human beings are NOT brands. Brands are passive objects or objectified structures that are manipulated to bend to the will of the "other". For brands see shoes, franchises, potato chips. Human beings are active agents who craft and cultivate reputations. For reputations see Malcolm, Fannie, Toni. Reputations are earned by free agents, not scripted objects to merely serve the aims and aspirations of brand managers. These (positive/negative) reputations are made and molded by agents who actively engage reality as a result of their volition and desire "to be" and become a being of their choosing.