No Logo

No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies

Front cover ofNo Logo
Author	Naomi Klein
Language	English
Subject	Alter-globalization
Genre	Non-fiction
Publisher	Knopf Canada,Picador
Publication date	December 1999
Publication place	Canada
Media type	Print (hardcover & paperback)
Pages	490 (first edition)
ISBN	0-312-20343-8
OCLC	43271949
Followed by	Fences and Windows

No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bulliesis a book by the Canadian authorNaomi Klein.First published byKnopf CanadaandPicadorin December 1999,shortly after the1999 Seattle WTO protestshad generated media attention around such issues, it became one of the most influential books about thealter-globalizationmovement and an international bestseller.

Focus

The book focuses onbrandingand often makes connections with theanti-globalization movement.Throughout the four parts ( "No Space", "No Choice", "No Jobs", and "No Logo" ), Klein writes about issues such assweatshopsin theAmericasandAsia,culture jamming,corporate censorship,andReclaim the Streets.She pays special attention to the deeds and misdeeds ofNike,The Gap,McDonald's,Shell,andMicrosoft– and of their lawyers, contractors, andadvertising agencies.

While globalization appears frequently as a recurring theme, Klein rarely addresses the topic ofglobalizationitself, and when she does, it is usually indirectly. She goes on to discuss globalization in much greater detail in her bookFences and Windows(2002).

Summary

The book comprises four sections. The first three sections deal with the negative effects of brand-oriented corporate activity, while the fourth and final section discusses various movements that arose in opposition to the corporate activities discussed in the rest of the book.

"No Space"

The book begins by tracing the history of brands. Klein argues that there has been a shift in the usage of branding and gives examples of this shift to "anti-brand" branding. Early examples of brands were often used to put a recognizable face on factory-produced products. These slowly gave way to the idea of selling lifestyles. According to Klein, in response to an economic crash in the late 1980s (due to theLatin American debt crisis,Black Monday (1987),thesavings and loan crisis,and theJapanese asset price bubble), corporations began to seriously rethink their approach to marketing and to target the youth demographic, as opposed to thebaby boomers,who had previously been considered a much more valuable segment.

The book discusses how brand names such asNikeorPepsiexpanded beyond the mere products which bore their names, and how these names and logos began to appear everywhere. As this happened, the brands' obsession with the youth market drove them to further associate themselves with whatever the youth considered "cool". Along the way, the brands attempted to associate their names with everything from movie stars and athletes to grassroots social movements.

Klein argues that largemultinational corporationsconsider the marketing of a brand name to be more important than the actual manufacture of products; this theme recurs in the book, and Klein suggests that it helps explain the shift to production inThird Worldcountries in such industries as clothing, footwear, and computer hardware.

This section also looks at ways in which brands have "muscled" their presence into the school system, and how in doing so, they have pipelined advertisements into the schools and used their position to gather information about the students. Klein argues that this is part of a trend toward targeting younger and younger consumers.

"No Choice"

In the second section, Klein discusses how brands use their size and clout to limit the number of choices available to the public – whether through market dominance (e.g.,Wal-Mart) or through aggressive invasion of a region (e.g.,Starbucks). Klein argues that each company's goal is to become the dominant force in its respective field. Meanwhile, other corporations, such asSonyorDisney,simply open their own chains of stores, preventing the competition from even putting their products on the shelves.

This section also discusses the way that corporations merge with one another in order to add to their ubiquity and provide greater control over their image.ABC News,for instance, is allegedly under pressure not to air any stories that are overly critical of Disney, its parent company. Other chains, such as Wal-Mart, often threaten to pull various products off their shelves, forcing manufacturers and publishers to comply with their demands. This might mean driving down manufacturing costs or changing the artwork or content of products like magazines or albums so they better fit with Wal-Mart's image of family friendliness.

Also discussed is the way that corporations abusecopyright lawsin order to silence anyone who might attempt to criticize their brand.

"No Jobs"

In this section, the book takes a darker tone and looks at the way in which manufacturing jobs move from local factories to foreign countries, and particularly to places known asexport processing zones.Such zones often have no labor laws, leading to dire working conditions.

The book then shifts back toNorth America,where the lack of manufacturing jobs has led to an influx of work in the service sector, where most of the jobs are for minimum wage and offer no benefits. The term "McJob"is introduced, defined as a job with poor compensation that does not keep pace with inflation, inflexible or undesirable hours, little chance of advancement, and high levels of stress. Meanwhile, the public is being sold the perception that these jobs are temporary employment for students and recent graduates, and therefore need not offer living wages or benefits.

All of this is set against a backdrop of massive profits and wealth being produced within the corporate sector. The result is a new generation of employees who have come to resent the success of the companies they work for. This resentment, along with rising unemployment, labour abuses abroad, disregard for the environment, and the ever-increasing presence of advertising breeds a new disdain for corporations.

"No Logo"

The final section of the book discusses various movements that have sprung up during the 1990s. These includeAdbustersmagazine and theculture-jammingmovement, as well asReclaim the Streetsand theMcLibeltrial. Less radical protests are also discussed, such as the various movements aimed at putting an end tosweatshoplabour.

Klein concludes by contrasting consumerism and citizenship, opting for the latter. "When I started this book," she writes, "I honestly didn't know whether I was covering marginal atomized scenes of resistance or the birth of a potentially broad-based movement. But as time went on, what I clearly saw was a movement forming before my eyes."

Responses

A cover ofThe Economist(8 September 2001) in reference toNo Logo

After the book's release, Klein was heavily criticized by the newspaperThe Economist,leading to a broadcast debate with Klein and the magazine's writers, dubbed "No Logo vs. Pro Logo".

The2004bookThe Rebel Sell(published asNation of Rebelsin the United States) specifically criticizedNo Logo,stating that turning the improving quality of life in the working class into a fundamentally anti-market ideology is shallow.

Nikepublished a point-by-point response to the book, refuting each of the statements Klein had made about the company's labor practices.

Awards

In 2000,No Logowas short-listed for theGuardianFirst Book Awardin 2000.

In 2001, the book won the following awards:

• The 2001National Business Book Award
• The 2001 French Prix Médiations

Editions

SeveralimprintsofNo Logoexist, including a hardcover first edition,a subsequent hardcover edition,and a paperback.A 10th anniversary edition was published by Fourth Estatethat includes a new introduction by the author. Translations from the original English into several other languages have also been published.The subtitle, "Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies", was dropped in some later editions.

Video

Naomi Klein explains her ideas in the 40-minute videoNo Logo – Brands, Globalization & Resistance(2003), directed bySut Jhally.

Legacy

Members of the English rock groupRadioheadrecommended the book to fans on their website and was rumored to have considered calling the albumKid A"No Logo" for a time.Argentine artistIndio Solariwrote a song for his first solo album named "Nike es la cultura" ( "Nike is the culture" ), in which he says, "You shout No Logo! Or you don't shout No Logo! Or you shout No Logo No!" in reference to this book.

Argentine-American rock singerKevin Johansenwrote a song, "Logo", inspired by Klein's book. A copy ofNo Logois even used in the official video for the song.

Dave Longstreth of american indie-pop bandDirty Projectorsnames the book and its author in their 2016 song "Keep Your Name"

See also

• China Blue
• Culture industry
• Occupy movement
• The Society of the Spectacle

External links

• Official website
• Naomi Klein'swebsite
• National Business Book Award –No Logo
• No Logo - Brands, Globalization & Resistance (2003 40 minute video)atIMDb
• CBC Archives– CBC Television HotType N. Klein talking about her book.