Which ancient civilization is credited with creating the first branded products using seals that told stories of product origin, with merchants leveraging these narratives for premium pricing?

Before modern marketing departments and digital campaigns, ancient civilizations had their own sophisticated methods of brand storytelling. Merchants and artisans used distinctive symbols, reputation-building, and narrative techniques to differentiate their products in ancient marketplaces. This poll explores how ancient civilizations created compelling brand narratives that sometimes endured for centuries.

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Mesopotamian merchants, who used cylinder seals to authenticate and tell stories about their goods' origins (c. 3500 BCE)
Egyptian traders, who used cartouche symbols to indicate royal approval and divine connection for luxury goods (c. 2500 BCE)
Phoenician merchants, who developed colored purple-dyed textiles as the first luxury branded products (c. 1500 BCE)
Indus Valley traders, who created stamped tokens to represent product quality and origin stories (c. 2600 BCE)