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clairesy's review against another edition
4.0
Chapter 9 - The Discarded Factory: Degraded Production in the Age of the Superbrand. Absolutely brutal reading, even over 20 years later. đ©
brannigan's review against another edition
4.0
This book makes a great counterpart to David Graeberâs Bullshit Jobs, pushing the message that modern western capitalism functions for a large part on hot air. The business of actually making and selling a good product is passĂ©, a relic of the 20th century. No, the success of multi-billion dollar global corporations like Nike and McDonalds depends not on the quality of their goods, but their ability to build their brand. What they are selling isnât trainers and burgers, because anyone can make those. No, theyâre selling you something much more ineffable and transcendent than that - a lifestyle. Meanwhile the production lines are outsourced and sub-contracted to shady gangmasters in developing countries, at the expense of the natural world and the poor workersâ human rights.
But of course, this is old news! Which is the problem with reading No Logo in 2020. Nowadays, Klein is preaching to the choir, but I canât hold that against her as this book played a great part in raising awareness of these nefarious corporate practices in the nineties. For this, she must be commended.
There are a couple of disappointments, though. The first few chapters about the history of modern branding and invasive advertising make for engaging reading, but itâs strange that she neglected to mention even in passing the father of modern marketing psychology, Edward Bernays. And I rushed through the last part, documenting anti-corporate activist groups in the 90s, mostly because the hesitantly hopeful tone is now a little depressing with 20+ yearsâ hindsight.
The brands are winning, and we have less space, less choice and fewer (ârealâ) jobs than ever. Klein was writing during the dawn of Web 2.0, and the era of the digital titans hadnât yet dawned. Now itâs impossible to escape Google and Amazon - they pretty much run the internet, swallowing everything that shows too much commercial promise. Amazon even owns this very platform, and despite the mother corporationâs billions, the app is still shit.
Three stars for the depressing reading experience; rounded up to four because the research is on point, it was an important cultural milestone and its core message remains just as relevant today.
But of course, this is old news! Which is the problem with reading No Logo in 2020. Nowadays, Klein is preaching to the choir, but I canât hold that against her as this book played a great part in raising awareness of these nefarious corporate practices in the nineties. For this, she must be commended.
There are a couple of disappointments, though. The first few chapters about the history of modern branding and invasive advertising make for engaging reading, but itâs strange that she neglected to mention even in passing the father of modern marketing psychology, Edward Bernays. And I rushed through the last part, documenting anti-corporate activist groups in the 90s, mostly because the hesitantly hopeful tone is now a little depressing with 20+ yearsâ hindsight.
The brands are winning, and we have less space, less choice and fewer (ârealâ) jobs than ever. Klein was writing during the dawn of Web 2.0, and the era of the digital titans hadnât yet dawned. Now itâs impossible to escape Google and Amazon - they pretty much run the internet, swallowing everything that shows too much commercial promise. Amazon even owns this very platform, and despite the mother corporationâs billions, the app is still shit.
Three stars for the depressing reading experience; rounded up to four because the research is on point, it was an important cultural milestone and its core message remains just as relevant today.
thoeroesa's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
jeremiglio's review against another edition
I can only imagine how impactful this was at the time. An incredible piece of journalism.
I desperately want to see an up-to-date version, encompassing social media, influencer culture, internet advertising, etc. and how all this has changed the brand ecosystem.
I desperately want to see an up-to-date version, encompassing social media, influencer culture, internet advertising, etc. and how all this has changed the brand ecosystem.
tessaays's review against another edition
4.0
Itâs astonishing that this was written TWENTY YEARS ago and remains so prescient and insightful. Naomi Kleinâs writing blows me away every time - itâs razor sharp, super-intelligent without getting academic or jargon-y, and she is absolutely masterful at building a thesis - without ever becoming preachy, or even judgemental. I would read anything she wrote. The only reasons Iâm subtracting a star from this one are a) the culture jamming chapter added absolutely nothing for me - Iâm still not really sure how drawing a skull on a modelâs face does anything to tear down global brand hegemony and b) it ran a little long/repetitive in some parts, and I found myself skimming. Overall though, I would recommend this to anyone - it really gave me a fresh anger at the despicable way that big brands have built their fortunes by chasing their production costs to basically zero and investing all that money in marketing and endorsements. I will NEVER look at a Nike ad the same way again.