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Neil Boorman is a thirty something guy following in the footsteps of other artistic or intellectual commentators, who try to make a name for themselves by striking an anti-brand pose.

In three weeks, he intends to make a big statement by burning all his possessions.

It's always been kind of fashionable to detest brands or at least claim that you are not impacted by them, but what's most interesting about Boorman's move is its timing.

Why now?

Perhaps it's a generational thing, in his early thirties, he's simply burnt out with brands; he's has had his fill and wants to strike out in a new direction?

Is there an ethical story? Is it something about curbing debt and expenditure and sustainability?

However, he is not talking about not consuming stuff. He still wants a computer, he is awaiting delivery of an un-branded Mac from the US and has traded his Nike sneakers for $8 sneakers, which according to one trendspotter, appear to be the hottest shoe in Hoxton these days.

At Influx, we are cynical, Boorman is simply using the displacement of brands in his life to launch brand Boorman. They guy has his face splashed over the pages of a British sunday newspaper and just signed a book deal.

However, there is some significance to his actions. We go back to the timing issue-why now?

As consumers find ways to avoid brands through selective use of media and devices like Tivo, the moments they encounter them will seem more abrasive. If you can't avoid brands, you have no choice to accept them, but in the new world, the unexpected encounters become that much harder to take.

It comes as no surprise that My Space users are now reacting negatively to the invasion of brand advertising on THEIR site, as MediaPost reports.

"There's an epidemic on MySpace, complained one MySpace user recently. "No it's not lame bulletin hoaxes or overpopulated layouts. It's fake profiles," the user wrote in his blog.

Another lamented that most celebrity profiles are "just fake."

Yet a third griped that MySpace allows corporate entities to create profiles for fictional characters. "Frankly, I think that's going too far," the user wrote."

The problem is not brands or their advertising, but the relevance and engagement. When advertisers buy space to invade and capture eyeballs, without providing engaging interactivity or entertainment, they become annoying, rather than culturally relevant.

Too much of this and the marketing business might just be in danger of creating a generation of Boorman disciples, now that would be one heck of large bonfire.