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If, in early capitalism, the commodity itself is the primary material fact of economic existence, then it would seem that marketing and advertising are the concomitant warping of the ideological/cultural space that is the natural by-product of material commodities' vigorous efforts to get themselves sold on the open market. If anyone doubts that there still exist Dickensian nightmares of exploitation in the contemporary world of global capitalism (or if anyone has faith that the rising tide does indeed lift all boats) then this is the book you should read.My one caveat is that while Klein is a masterful journalist and a capable storyteller, she is at best (at least in this book) a mediocre theoretician. Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek frequently uses as an explanatory topos the following reading of Einstein's theory of relativity: In the special theory of relativity (so the story goes) matter has the effect of curving the space around it, so the shortest distance between two points is not necessarily a straight line. what is ultimately for sale is no longer mere commodities but the brand itself, and the physical products (shoes, coffee, software, etc). Fortunately, Klein has since published The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, a far more sober accounting of the events and economic ideologies of the past decade.However, despite the dated feel of the final chapters, No Logo remains relevant for anyone trying to get a picture of contemporary economic realities. However, as we transition eras into late capitalism, a profound shift occurs, as branding itself becomes increasingly important. Klein is an impeccable researcher, and her marshaling of the data and statistics in the service of the story she has to tell are flawless.
In particular, the last section of the book, devoted to an exploration of various forms of resistance movements and Klein's own unwavering optimism, seem, from the vantage point of a decade after the book was published, a tad bit naive and underwhelming. However, with the shift to the general theory of relativity the story is reversed; the curvature of space is no longer the effect of matter's gravity, it is rather matter itself which is the side-effect of the curvature of space, the curvature of space is itself the primordial fact.Whether or not this is an accurate summary of Einstein's contribution to twentieth century physics, it is a useful schema for understanding the transformation Naomi Klein charts in No Logo. While her descriptive powers of documenting the current realities are formidable, her analysis of the possibilities of resistance and her prescriptions for future movements leave something to be desired. With the success of the mega-brands of the nineties (Nike, Starbucks, Microsoft, etc). that advertising used to serve become mere vehicles for selling the increasingly ubiquitous brands.This is the shift that Naomi Klein beautifully details in this book, with copious charts and graphs, endless footnotes and references, and engaging and readable writing. I mean, has the Reclaim the Streets movement really thrown a monkey-wrench into the forces of gentrification and homogenization reshaping the faces of North American cities (as Klein breathlessly anticipates in one chapter). It offers a treasure trove of data and documentation that continues to serve as reliable ammunition for anyone wishing to take the wind out of the sails of today's counter-revolutionary apologists of capital that continue to be so much in vogue and dominate global policy making at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
She explains that it is more than attacking branding; it is about citizenship, not consumerism. Whether the "All Rights Reserved" copyrighted logo is meant to be ironic or merely obligatory concessions to the publishing house, it still reflects Klein poorly: either as a powerless pawn or else having a bad sense of humor. Neither is it about attacking corporations via purchasing power. Purely on content, however, as all books should be judged, No Logo quickly shows you this is no left-wing, hippie diatribe of over-generalization, with facts shunted to the wayside. Along with eliminating this episode, Klein would do her cause service by eschewing her description of RTS's absurdities in favor of a more detailed assessment of collectives and people's movements, such as the Zapatistas: uprisings that are rooted firmly in the reality of economics and egalitarian living-- rather than the short-term frivolity of dangerous quasi-riots, or the childish response of throwing pies at CEOs. For those of us who are a bit slow to comprehend the dramatic shift that has taken place in the free-market business world, Klein neatly diagrams the subtle and not-so-subtle shifts the private, for-profit sector of mainstream business has taken in its quest to orient away from developing products and focus on the development of brands. What has been so far a masterful critique of globalization and corporatism focuses instead on grassroots activism and culture jammers.
This paradigmatic shift has launched a new era of capitalism, changing it drastically from our predecessors' definition. Klein masterfully identifies the root problem of laissez-faire economics, market-oriented policies, and capitalism in general. Klein maps out the expansion of advertising into all aspects of human life, the lack of "unbranded space", the Borg-like assimilation process that marketing initiates, devouring all niches, reactions, backlashes and resistance. With the debilitating portrayal of culture jamming and RTS as equals to the more mature approaches of student and political organizations described, No Logo undoes itself in short order; easily dismissed by those of the conservative persuasion.
No Logo is a surprisingly well-researched book, if you can get past the obvious contradiction on the front cover and binding of this major-label production. She spends almost one hundred pages describing (without unqualified praise, to her credit) underground rings of vandals and lone "anti-brand" guerrillas who deface corporate advertising by some irrational belief that their actions will persuade mainstream, moderate Westerners to change their consumption habits to ones approved by vigilantes drawing skulls and rewriting logos. If her discussion of them is to document an overall noble and worthy cause (that is, anti-corporate resistance), then addressing culture jammers in anything but a negative light only serves to tarnish an up until now, very polished presentation. Klein also fails to precisely pinpoint what exactly her target is. She details the flood of franchising, corporate mergers, private-sectors profit-maker's censorship, outsourcing, the exploitation of third-world labor, the creation of "McJobs" inside service economies and the growth of temporary labor and permanent "freelancing". No Logo is an excellent book if one is interested in learning the largely ignored facts about branding, advertising, and labor politics; it is not a very convincing polemic for those skeptical of non-privatized solutions. Instead, it reads like a well-planned documentary, meticulously annotated and researched. She explains much about activists' activities, but by the time she concludes her narrative, she has done little to address what exactly is the goal-- besides her vague wish for "unbranded spaces".
With this process of lifestyle branding and perpetual advertising adaption, Klein shows the effects of this system of separation of brands and products. Klein derails, however, in her attempts to document the anti-corporate activist movement. The afterword (written in 2002) perhaps provides a better insight into what she was getting at when she talks about egalitarian movements and non-homogenization. Although Klein does cover the anti-globalization movement with a broad, documentary-style brush, the pages of No Logo lack cynosure towards social cooperative, collective solutions, feeling reactionary more than inspirational.
This is now the classic easily accessible text on corporate outsourcing and branding. Klein's analysis is grounded in a strong concern for ethics and social justice and informed by an acute understanding of how global businesses operate.
I read this book a while back for a college course on media in the 21st century, and never before have I talked about a book in conversation so much. The topics Klein covers are applicable to so many facets of modern media. A must-read for anyone interested in corporate branding, advertising and/or media. You won't look at an ad the same way again.
It took me awhile to get around to reading No Logo, and I have to say I was amply rewarded for the effort. She notes the way Nike essentially "branded" Harlem, and how companies like Adidas followed suit when Run DMC's hip hop song about their Adidases became a big hit.There are holes in her narrative, but not so much that she trips over them as Michael Moore often does. She notes various efforts in the US, Britain and Canada to take back the streets, and remaking billboards and Internet ads into trenchant commentaries on the nature of branding.
She does a great job of covering the terrain, pointing out the greed that permeated the market and the biggest abusers in this high stakes game of branding society.Probably the most disconcerting chapters are those where she illustrated how deeply these brand names permeated high schools and universities in the 90s, hoping to get to the "ground zero" of their youth market. Instead, a chain of suppliers provide these products at low costs so that the brands can spend more money on branding. Klein packs a whallop in her narrative as she covers the 80s and 90's corporate world as it switched from a product oriented climate to that of corporate branding with devastating consequences both at home and abroad.
Perhaps her most searing chapters are those where she ventures into the sweat shops around the world, illustrating the widespread labor abuses of major brands, as they no longer take responsibility for their own products. She notes how schools basically sold their souls to the devil to make up for budget shortfalls brought upon by cuts in education budgets across the country. She also notes how students fought back, as they were sick of being forced to eat this branding in both their cafeterias and the single channel "educational" television programming they got in class.The book is as much about fighting back as it is about the media onslaught of major corporations to shape the way we think about their brands.
It was an advertiser's heyday in the 90s, especially among 20-somethings as they found themselves to be hot property, with these companies seeking younger markets for their products. Her research is broad and she tells a compelling story, which is why this book is as relavent today as it was when it was first published in 2000.
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