Brand US of A

Whenever I travel to Europe, I am often confronted with opinions about brand USA cloaked as questions. Old neighbors and friends are curious to know if business is really like it is portrayed in the sitcoms and what I think about the current political climate. While there exist definitely strong views on those points, the most intriguing discussions I have are around American brands and lifestyle.

By far one of the funniest list of reasons to love America (Italians often substitute the word for US of A) is the one compiled by author and radio/TV commentator Beppe Severgnini. As it will be apparent to you in a moment, there are many. I will bold my translation of his points and add my own take. His entry #14 I cannot translate as it's a play on words in Italian.

1. Space. You won't be claustrophobic even in elevators. Space as in places, homes, offices, land, etc. being bigger and personal space. It is really valued and preserved here.
2. The flag. They might use it as a coat for their dog, but they love it. The only time you'll see Italian flags as pervasively as the US flag here is during the World Cup. I was in Italy in June and noticed with amazement the creases in many of the nice wool flags on display. No doubt, Italian mothers then wash, iron and preserve them in mothballs when they are put away.
3. Predictability. If there is a simple solution, Americans will choose that. You need to appreciate that most Europeans over think. No doubt the product of education style and enormous history. Another point of considerable difference is the incredible pragmatic optimism (it is always dangerous to generalize) here vs. baseline pessimism in Europe. Here you great people with 'how' you doing?' And are expected to reply 'well, thanks' or similar versions of that. There, you often reply 'not bad' (non c'e' male).
4. Mistakes. In America making a mistake is not failing. It means you tried. Europeans are much more rigid in that respect. Although, as I pointed out elsewhere, the backbone of the Italian economy is still the small to mid-size entrepreneurial and family business.
5. Faces. It's difficult to feel different, because (almost) no one is the same. Now this is changing rapidly with the recent waves of immigration. It is still meaningful to point out that although the public/social structures in Italy have been deployed to the service of immigrants (sometimes even at the expense of indigent natives), the term still used to refer to them is 'extracomunitary'. Almost self-explanatory.
6. Credit cards. A simple solution for a complicated world (you just need it). This may also be attributed to demographics and the aging European population. I remember when Italy switched currency from the Lira to the Euro, the elderly took the longest to convert, both their currency (sometimes kept under the mattress) and the ability to work with the new system. So merchants and bankers simplified things by rounding up and maintaining prices in effect doubling them. For example, where before a pair of shoes would cost 100,000 lire, it would now cost 100 Euros (the real conversion would have been 50!). Wages, of course, did not keep up.
7. Gadgets. Small big objects Americans cannot live without (Italians cannot either, just a couple of years later). Yes, Europe and the rest of the world are almost insatiable for US imports and brands. I was at the same time disappointed and surprised to see a McDonald's right across from the Pantheon in Rome.
8. Rental cars. In two minutes you're driving one. Any process that involves paperwork in Italy is a real production -- with a cast, a director, and a long plot.
9. Dispensing machines, public rest rooms, motels, switches: they are where you need them. And they work. Yes, this is the perspective of a foreigner. I realize that we may have different expectations living here.
10. Roadways. It feels like you're in America (but why do they park in driveways and drive in parkways?) Have you driven in Europe? Narrow and busy roads where people still drive like maniacs.
11. The language. Whoever writes 2nite instead of tonight is up to something. There are neat abbreviations in Italian for sms (text messaging) as well, make no mistake. The constant and rapid evolution of American English is a subject matter of instant fascination over there.
12. Hollywood celebrities. They are America's Royal Family. The good news is that every so often they change. This is quite self-explanatory.
13. Amusement parks. It seems incredible, but you actually have fun there. When EuroDisney opened, it was a real fiasco, for many reasons, which I won't get into. The Italian version are carnivals, which are a very different experience and often run by gypsies.
14. Orange juice. Sometimes it actually tastes like oranges. Have you ever tasted European orange juice? I have friends who prefer it. It is thicker and tastes like there are other fruits in it.
15. Humor. When they get it, Americans have fun. When they don't get it, we have fun. At our expense. Since I am a citizen of both worlds, I find it interesting that I can laugh at me and about me at the same time.
16. Political Correctness. A good intention that has become slightly absurd. With this one you can have real fun. Yes, Italians are not afraid to be politically incorrect and they exercise that right often and with true dedication and skill.
17. Car radios. They're not space computers like in Italy. And they actually work.
18. The police. They exist and make it known. Sometimes they seem to have viewed too many sitcoms, but one can forgive them.
19. Your name. You say it once and an American will remember it forever (while you've already forgotten theirs).
20. BBQ Sauce. A tempting smell, an important experience.
21. The suburbs. The tropics for the amateur anthropologist hidden within every European.
22. Tips. try not to leave one and your vacation will swiftly become an adventure (oh, yes). I had a learning curve here, I confess.
23. Steaks. You'll understand why Tex Willer loves them so much. The other comment I get with this one is that bugs also seem to be much bigger over here.
24. Vietnamese Restaurants. A good consequence of an ugly war.
25. Chocolate chip cookies. Nothing to add: taste one. And they are huge, comparatively.
26. SUVs. They could climb the mountains and deserts of Patagonia and they're all parked in front of malls. Yes, really. Have you ever had the enormous SUV driven by the tiny suburban wife driving behind you? Ready to invade a country and she cannot close the trunk without jumping up. 
27. GAP, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor: buy on sale before they become Italian (read: beautiful but expensive and sophisticated). Italians are the masters of scarcity when it comes to fashion. You will see one or two items on the rack and know that you must have them, even if they're not your size.
28. Brooks Brothers. $40 for a great shirt: fair enough.
29. Cotton. It's a completely different thing.
30. Clearances and sales: the real non conventional American weapons against which you have no defenses.
31. Elvis, the King. Twenty five years later and he remains a nice fellow.
32. Bruce Springsteen: the most influential American thinker is for real.
33. Cemeteries. They are restful and not only for the residents. Of course, they were built before the housing complexes that surround them.
34. Pancakes. The continent's sweet soul.
35. eCommerce. There's even something to buy. For example: are you interested in my book, Ciao America! (Doubleday/Broadway Books)? You can find it on Amazon.com, 30% off.
36. Money (dollars). Americans are not afraid to speak about it (I learned too, see above).
37. Neon lights. The pacifiers for the national anxiety.
38. Trash cans. Big, efficient, and they take them away.
39. Basketball on TV. Better if with a Domino pizza and an ice-cold beer.
40. Beer. Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada and you know what you've got. I remember Peroni, Moretti and Nastro Azzurro.
41. Ice. Useful to refresh your forehead, stop a nose-bleed, treat small contusions. Just don't put it (in industrial quantity) in my Coke. I still need to remember to say 'no ice' everywhere.
42. The Drive Thru. When Italians need to order a meal through a voice box they panic. Very entertaining.
43. Cappuccino. It is almost like ours (just don't drink it after a meal, like they do).
44. Linguini Primavera and Fettuccini Alfredo. Explain that they do not exist in Italy, they invented them. You'll become the most popular person in the group. This is really funny because it took me a long time to figure out why they were considered Italian foods.

US brands are still going pretty strong abroad, including the open attitude around which they are often wrapped. What may be missing is the humanized US voice in the global conversation. What is your take?