Originally Posted by
tony colegrave
The frequent suggestion that Brooks only advise use of 'Proofide' because they make money out of it is absurd - a cynic might suggest that they would be better advised to encourage the use of neatsfoot, etc. (which they did, at one time), as this would probably significantly increase their sales of new saddles.
I think you have it all wrong. Brooks gets no money out of neatsfoot, which doesn't ruin saddles, whatsoever so there's a well to be tapped. What Brooks did with Proofide is called "branding". Take a commonly used product -- let's say an oil based leather dressing -- change it slightly to make it unique, give it a special name that is trademarked then advertise the hell out of it to convince the public that it's the only way to fly. You know, just like the big distillers do with vodka. It's just simple business and if you think Brooks is above doing business then you are naive.