Recently, this image has been presented by a Facebook group called Exposing the Truth with the title “The Illusion of Choice”. The assumption is that these companies have conspired to give consumers an illusion that they have choices in the products they buy, and thereby the lives they lead. All the choice that is presented by the brands and products on the outside is in actuality just a choice between the nine companies in the middle.

Another perspective is based on the modern necessity for unique marketing. The products on the outside do provide real variety in the kinds of choices that consumers make day-to-day. They are each given their own brand and logo, not to cover up the fact that they are owned by a few companies, but because they are in fact their own product with their own utility. Each brand is a rich experience in itself and can only be fully appreciated with its own logo and marketing.

Consumers expect this kind of marketing for everything they buy. It is a sign that they are getting a product that has the backing of a thoughtful company and will come with it all the benefits of the modern corporation–quality, corporate integrity, and safety. In other words, the varied branding isn’t a lie, but a reflection of what consumers expect in the products they buy. The consumers are really the ones that drive this phenomenon, and if anyone is lying, it is the consumers lying to themselves.