Smalls

I chose M&S as my brand for Buzz and as suggested, signed up to Google alerts, did lots of blog searches and so on. Very quickly, I was inundated with stuff - most of it no doubt very important but frankly immensely dull financial stuff. What I did notice though was that loads of the comments by normal people (as opposed to city analysts and financiers) concerned underwear. Smalls. Undies. Briefs. Shorts. Intimates. Slips. (You know that thing about eskimos having seven words for snow?...What does that say about Brits and their relationship with underwear?) So anyway, I decided to narrow my search a little and see what the great British public had to say about the nation's favourite store for thermals. And there was no shortage of stuff...

Which brings me to my five observations:

1. People are more than happy to talk publicly - even brag - about buying their underwear from M&S whereas they're a teeny bit embarassed to tell the world that they occasionally buy Tshirts there.

2. M&S's appeal is truly universal. Everyone seem to default to M&S for undies, whoever they are. Grannies, mummies, girls on the town, even self-confessed cyber-w**kers who choose to blog about their obsession (think twice before you click through if you're feeling a bit prudish).

3. They may not be the prettiest or the sexiest, but somehow M&S manage to make the most comfortable, comforting, 'shepherd's-pie-on-a-winter's-day' sort of underwear. I can only assume that's part of what makes the brilliantly named Goddess of Laundry keep hers for 10 years.

4. It's that little hint of nerdiness that seem to appeal.

5. People use M&S as a bit of an aladdin's cave for undies. When they need something and don't know where to go for it, it's guaranteed to come up with the goods: 'slips' for people who've never had a reason to buy them before, thermals when the Damart catalogue has run out. As Laura says, 'M&S saves the day'.

And one extra for bonus points:

6. A brand that people are happy to get intimate with everyday is one that's in extraordinarily good health.