Text3 Brands began as badges of product quality,going back at least as far as the medieval association of craftsmen who used them to distinguish their work.Now in providing consumers with.a host of fascinating facts,companies are striving to grant their brands"authenticity".Interbrand,a consultant on branding,describes authenticity as"an internal truth and capability",a"defined heritage"and a"well-grounded value set".Authenticity is being advertised as a cure for consumers"fading loyalty to brands.It is not hard to see why the old marketing magic is fading,in an age in which people can instantly learn truth about the things they are thinking about buying.Online reviews and friends"comments on social media help consumers see a product"s underlying merits and demerits.For brands that lack any truly distinguishing features,that is bad news.The declining faith in brands is a greater threat to some types of products than others:snacks and household gadgets,say,as opposed to luxury handbags.But for a range of consumer goods,brands"strength as a signal of quality,and their power to open people"s wallets,are fading,argue Itamar Simonson and Emanuel Rosen in their book,Absolute Value:What Really Influences Customers in the Age of Peifect Information.Surveys back up this conclusion.In North America consumers say they trust only about a fifth of brands,according to a poll by a marketing agency.Consumers seem particularly wary of big brands.About half ofAmerican shoppers say they trust small companies to do the right thing,compared with just 36%who say the same oflarge ones,reports a research firm.These opinions are starting to have effects.Of the top 100 consumers packaged-goods brands in America,90 lost market share in the year to July,according to a marketing firm.In big emerging markets,foreign-branded goods are losing their appeal,as shoppers realise that local products are no longer so inferior.The silver lining to the dark cloud looming over brands is that as people become better informed about products"underlying qualities,and more sceptical of marketing strategies,they are exhibiting a desire for brands that are"honest"and seem to have some identifiable merit.Inevitably,this is leading some marketers to embrace campaigns that seek to bring about the inexpressible quality of authenticity out of thin air.As the cynics among them might say:authenticity is the secret of success;once you fake it,you"ve got it made.31.According to the first two paragraphs,which one is TRUE about brands?