An Argument to Complete “No Logo”

In “No Logo” Naomi Klein presents a convincing and well-documented look into how “branding” has enabled multi-national corporations to take over the way many Americans make purchases; however, since her argument fails to include the all-important human factors often overlooked by corporations and the proliferation of Internet-based retailers who are able to deal goods directly to the consumer, it is incomplete.

Advertising (marketing) in America is long past its zenith. There may have been a time when people actually paid attention to all of the flash, the glitz, and the hype, but most consumers (especially those in Generation X) are savvy and somewhat skeptical. The public is less impressed and views these types of marketing attempts as desperate, and even pathetic. Marlboro Friday (977) may stand out as a monumental day in the minds of advertisers, but there is another moment that stands out in the minds of consumers; the night a woman disrobed during half-time show at the Super Bowl. It was as if time stood still as a nation witnessed advertising shorn of its pretense. This one event exposed the true state of marketing in America. It seems every attempt to hoodwink and capture the attention of the population has already been tried; there is nowhere new to go. Stooping to nudity to try and capture the attention of the public confirms what the consumer already knows; it doesn’t matter how firms try and “clothe” their products; underneath they are all the same.

The branding Ms. Klein wrote about only appears to work because the idea of “choice” as defined by the brick-and-mortar retailers is an illusion. Anyone entering a department store or mall understands this quiet truth. There are many styles to choose from, it seems, b...

... middle of paper ...

...stomers had a voice that a few decades ago were non-existent. This caused the manufacturer to ultimately make the necessary improvements, although the bad reputation of those years of inferior workmanship has taken its toll. Today a simple Google search can display a list of comparable blenders that can be bought world-wide, a few that can actually last 30 years.

While logos may still play a significant role in the way American’s purchase goods, their influence is undeniably waning. Naomi Klein’s conclusions may have been valid in 2002 because no one could have possibly foreseen how the Internet would change the way we do business. Increased information freely accessible to everyone is changing world’s markets. It remains to be seen what our global economy will look like in ten years and what impact well-informed consumers will have on the world’s market-economies.