Product Description

The book that offers a cure for affluenza, 'No Logo' is one of those rare books that defines a generation, the most significant one since Douglas Coupland's 'Generation X'. By the time you're twenty-one, you'll have seen or heard a million advertisements. But you won't be happier for it. This is a book about that much-maligned, much-misunderstood generation coming up behind the slackers, who are being intelligent and active about the world in which they find themselves. It is a world in which all that is 'alternative' is sold, where any innovation or subversion is immediately adopted by un-radical, faceless corporations. But, gradually, tentatively, a new generation is beginning to fight consumerism with its own best weapons; and it is the first skirmishes in this war that this abrasively intelligent book documents brilliantly.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1651 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
We live in an era where image is nearly everything, where the proliferation of brand-name culture has created, to take one hyperbolic example from Naomi Klein's No Logo, "walking, talking, life-sized Tommy [Hilfiger] dolls, mummified in fully branded Tommy worlds". Brand identities are even flourishing online, she notes--and for some retailers, perhaps best of all online: "Liberated from the real-world burdens of stores and product manufacturing, these brands are free to soar, less as the disseminators of goods or services than as collective hallucinations".

In No Logo, Klein patiently demonstrates, step by step, how brands have become ubiquitous, not just in media and on the street but increasingly in the schools as well. The global companies claim to support diversity but their version of "corporate multiculturalism" is merely intended to create more buying options for consumers. When Klein talks about how easy it is for retailers like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster to "censor" the contents of videotapes and albums, she also considers the role corporate conglomeration plays in the process. How much would one expect Paramount Pictures, for example, to protest against Blockbuster's policies, given that they are both divisions of Viacom?

Klein also looks at the workers who keep these companies running, most of whom never share in any of the great rewards. The president of Borders, when asked whether the bookstore chain could pay its clerks a "living wage" wrote that "while the concept is romantically appealing, it ignores the practicalities and realities of our business environment". Those clerks should probably just be grateful they're not stuck in an Asian sweatshop, making pennies an hour to produce Nike sneakers or other must-have fashion items. Klein also discusses at some length the tactic of hiring "permatemps" who can do most of the work and receive few, if any, benefits like health care, paid vacations or stock options. While many workers are glad to be part of the "Free Agent Nation" observers note that, particularly in the high-tech industry, such policies make it increasingly difficult to organise workers and advocate for change.

But resistance is growing and the backlash against the brands has set in. Street-level education programmes have taught kids in the inner cities, for example, not only about Nike's abusive labour practices but about the astronomical mark-up in their prices. Boycotts have commenced: as one urban teen put it, "Nike, we made you. We can break you". But there's more to the revolution, as Klein optimistically recounts: "Ethical shareholders, culture jammers, street reclaimers, McUnion organisers, human-rights hacktivists, school-logo fighters and Internet corporate watchdogs are at the early stages of demanding a citizen-centred alternative to the international rule of the brands ... as global, and as capable of co-ordinated action, as the multinational corporations it seeks to subvert". No Logo is a comprehensive account of what the global economy has wrought and the actions taking place to thwart it. --Ron Hogan

Amazon.co.uk Review
We live in an era where image is nearly everything, where the proliferation of brand-name culture has created, to take one hyperbolic example from Naomi Klein's No Logo, "walking, talking, life-sized Tommy [Hilfiger] dolls, mummified in fully branded Tommy worlds". Brand identities are even flourishing online, she notes--and for some retailers, perhaps best of all online: "Liberated from the real-world burdens of stores and product manufacturing, these brands are free to soar, less as the disseminators of goods or services than as collective hallucinations."

In No Logo, Klein patiently demonstrates, step by step, how brands have become ubiquitous, not just in media and on the street but increasingly in the schools as well. The global companies claim to support diversity but their version of "corporate multiculturalism" is merely intended to create more buying options for consumers. When Klein talks about how easy it is for retailers like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster to "censor" the contents of videotapes and albums, she also considers the role corporate conglomeration plays in the process. How much would one expect Paramount Pictures, for example, to protest against Blockbuster's policies, given that they're both divisions of Viacom?

Klein also looks at the workers who keep these companies running, most of whom never share in any of the great rewards. The president of Borders, when asked whether the bookstore chain could pay its clerks a "living wage" wrote that "while the concept is romantically appealing, it ignores the practicalities and realities of our business environment." Those clerks should probably just be grateful they're not stuck in an Asian sweatshop, making pennies an hour to produce Nike sneakers or other must-have fashion items. Klein also discusses at some length the tactic of hiring "permatemps" who can do most of the work and receive few, if any, benefits like health care, paid vacations or stock options. While many workers are glad to be part of the "Free Agent Nation" observers note that, particularly in the high-tech industry, such policies make it increasingly difficult to organise workers and advocate for change.

But resistance is growing and the backlash against the brands has set in. Street-level education programmes have taught kids in the inner cities, for example, not only about Nike's abusive labour practices but about the astronomical mark-up in their prices. Boycotts have commenced: as one urban teen put it, "Nike, we made you. We can break you." But there's more to the revolution, as Klein optimistically recounts: "Ethical shareholders, culture jammers, street reclaimers, McUnion organisers, human-rights hacktivists, school-logo fighters and Internet corporate watchdogs are at the early stages of demanding a citizen-centred alternative to the international rule of the brands ... as global, and as capable of co-ordinated action, as the multinational corporations it seeks to subvert." No Logo is a comprehensive account of what the global economy has wrought and the actions taking place to thwart it. --Ron Hogan

Review
'A riveting, conscientious piece of journalism and a strident call to arms. Packed with enlightening statistics and extraordinary anecdotal evidence, "No Logo" is fluent, undogmatically alive to its contradictions and omissions and positively seethes with intelligent anger.' Sam Leith, Observer 'A fascinating ride through the history of marketing!Klein brilliantly humanises "No Logo" with fascinating personal stories, her voice firm but never preachy, her argument detailed but never obscure.' Alex O'Connell, The Times 'Naomi Klein brilliantly charts the protean nature of consumer capitalism, how it absorbs radical challenges to its dominance and turns them into consumer products.' Madeleine Bunting, Guardian 'If the world really is just one big global village, then the logo is its common language understood by -- if not accessible to -- everyone. In "No Logo", Klein undertakes an arduous journey to the centre of a post-national planet. Starting with the brand's birth, as a means of bringing soul to mass marketing, she follows in the logo's wake and notes its increasing capacity for making the product subservient -- a strategy reaching its apotheosis in brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, who actually produces nothing but lends his signature to a wardrobe of clothing statements made elsewhere. Beyond this she reaches her core argument -- the now uneasy struggle between corporate power and anti-corporate activism -- via sweatshop labour, submerged identity and subversive action. Part sociological thesis, part design history, "No Logo"'s message is entirely engrossing and emphatic.' GQ

Customer Reviews

Thought provoking but a too long
This is clearly a key text for many, and it is very thought provoking still now in 2004, I first read it in 2001 - the case studies and views of some appaling acts by the multi-nationals using export processing zones are delivered in a solid manner, with some thorough research and backing. However there is a "but"... the book is far too long and heavy, once you have read half, you really won't gain much more by reading it all, it is the same thing repeated over again with different cases, making it harder to read as time progresses. By 3/4s in it becomes a chore to read. However this is a text rather than a roll-along book, and I still believe everyone should read it once.

A relevant take on contemporary society
No Logo is packed with mind-blowing facts about a culture most of us accept as part of our daily life. This book made a real impression upon me - quite an achievement as I'm a dedicated consumer and had been greatly unimpressed with what I'd seen of the anti-globalisation movement.

This book encompasses many themes and for me it offers a modern take on issues of censorship and inequalities of sex, race and class. I was amazed at how many areas of our lives brand-building infiltrates and attempts to control. The strategies used by global companies are fascinating and it is unnerving to recognise yourself as the subject of sophisticated manipulation.

Klein's is not a balanced approach, but then she clearly sees no room for excuses in this moral manifesto. It makes for an engaging read as you can really sense her passion and anger. Stylistically the book owes more to quality journalism than dry academia. The No Logo website is worth a look too!

A slap in the face for unethical shopping decisions?
I have owned this book for some time, and have only just plucked up the courage to read it. This has taken a month to finish, largely because the issues raised required some thought and resulted in a bit of discussion at home, even briefly diverting attention away from sport on TV. The title makes it clear that the author is taking up a particular, predominantly negative, attitude towards branding and marketing in the context of globalisation. Naomi Klein has researched the impact of brands on local environments and people, and on the countries where products are manufactured, with reference to the power of multi-nationals to shape national and international politics and policies. I was impressed by the detail in the book, although I found parts of it heavy-going for the same reason.

The chapters dealing with the marketing of brands to young people within schools and universities were particularly interesting-things have changed since my day. I was fascinated by what makes a brand "cool" and how corporations have acquired and then exploited knowledge about us all to create demand for products. I discovered that my belief that I take no notice of advertising is almost certainly wrong-I see so many messages during a day that some of them are bound to stick and then pop up the next time I need to buy a pair of trainers.

The strongest chapters relate to the treatment of workers in sweatshops in various parts of the world. I knew that such operations existed but I had not appreciated the extent of their reach. This book proved to me that I have bought goods manufactured by someone who is living on payment well below minimum wage, working long hours, often in unsafe conditions. That has made me stop to think about what I will buy and from where in future.

Having awakened my awareness I was disappointed that the book did not tell me what to do with it. I would have welcomed some positive suggestions for making different choices when shopping, or details of how to lobby for change. I was also unclear as to Naomi Klein's view regarding violent direct action. I felt that she was uncritical of some actions taken by protestors, for example in the May Day riots, and it would have helped me to understand her perspective, and that of the protestors, if she had stuck her neck out a little more. I would also have appreciated a more historical context to the detail e.g. an explanation of how the textile industry has developed in the UK via sweatshops, unionisation etc. in such a way as to lead many clothing retailers to source products in, say, Macau (using the example that I am wearing at the moment), rather than Yorkshire. Does this mean that we haven't moved on from the portrayal of the textile industry in the sitcom "Brass" and still all that matters to us is the cheapest price and the highest profit? If so, why?

I have made the book sound like a worthy tome and in some respects it is. I am surprised by how many people I have seen reading it on the Tube. What I have learnt from "No Logo" is that we value individuality and want to do the right thing as long as we don't stand out from the crowd or have to pay too much! The big brands can capitalise on those conflicting desires to sell more products that are pretty much the same as each other using the flattery of advertising to convince us that only we are worthy of them. This book has taught me not to be quite so easily duped. Now all I need is another book to tell me how to shop ethically!