If the subject were not so serious, this would be hilarious:

Syria’s national beer is a perfect metaphor for its government’s actions. Previously called Barada, after the river that runs through the capital, the beer was notoriously bad and came in stubby green bottles. Earlier this year, the government-owned brewery overhauled its brand. It changed the name to Turbo and began packaging it in cans that proclaimed: “It is considered as one of the world’s best beers.” But the substance contained inside remained as lousy as ever. Repackaging the same product and proclaiming its excellence, it seems, has become the regime’s modus operandi.

What is far less disturbing than the menace behind this tale of branding - but still worth noting - is how the analogy is reversible. It is the antithesis of the free market, other than the adage caveat emptor perhaps, that the renaming, repackaging, repositioning, restructuring or replacing of the shell somehow improves what's inside. It presumes that the consumer is a dupe, a dimwit, a mook. Nothing more than a element in an equation that looks something like A + B < C where "A" is the brewer's inputs and "C" the brewer's reward. B is the you, the consumer.