Critical Reasoning

Products sold under a brand name used to command premium prices because, in general, they were
superior to nonbrand rival products. Technical expertise in product development has become so widespread,however, that special quality advantages are very hard to obtain these days and even harder to maintain. As a consequence, brand-name products generally neither offer higher quality nor sell at higher prices. Paradoxically,
brand names are a bigger marketing advantage than ever.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the paradox outlined above?

(A) Brand names are taken by consumers as a guarantee of getting a product as good as the best rival
products.
(B) Consumers recognize that the quality of products sold under invariant brand names can drift over time.
(C) In many acquisitions of one corporation by another, the acquiring corporation is interested more in acquiring the right to use certain brand names than in acquiring existing production facilities.
(D) In the days when special quality advantages were easier to obtain than they are now, it was also easier to get new brand names established.
(E) The advertising of a company's brand-name products is at times transferred to a new advertising agency,especially when sales are declining.

OA is A. My question is why not B but A is OA.

As you have correctly pointed out, we have to choose the best among A and B. All the others are out of context of the argument.

Coming to the argument, you have to understand that the question asks us to explain why brand names are the biggest marketing advantage, or in other words, why brand names sell the most.

B talks about why lesser known brand names fade off in due time, but it does not address why brand names are the success they actually are.

A correctly points out why by saying that consumers recognize brand names as a guarantee for getting a product as good as the best rival products.

I hope you understand that A is better than B and you always have to choose the best option among the good ones!

Hope this clears your doubt!

Option B CANNOT be the right choice.
The deal breaker is the word invariant which is synonymous with brand.
If their quality is drifting over time, it would widen the paradox rather than explain it.

Hi hey_thr67,

Notice the uncertainty in choice (B)....products sold under invariant brand names can drift..


hope this helps.

OA as correctly mentioned by you is (A)

Another reason for B to be incorrect is, if you read the passgae carefully,it says that "As a consequence, brand-name products generally neither offer higher quality nor sell at higher prices." (B) indicates that quality of products sold under invariant brand names can drift overtime. As per the passge, qulaity does't differ much now-a-days, concluding that B cannot be the correct answer.

C,D, E - All OOS.

Regards
Nitin