No Logo (Book Review)

My last post on this blog focused on the ethics of marketing with particular regards given to Klein's oft-cited book No logo (2000.) At the time I hadn't yet finished the text, but instead provided a general rebuttal of two equally dogmatic and myopic opinions; those two opinions being that marketing as a field, medium, concept, paradigm or whatever you want to call it, is a) COMPLETELY good/harmless or b) COMPLETELY negative. I concluded that each was equally short-sighted and unfair. I will review No Logo in the following paragraphs, the book available for purchase in most bookstores/online retailers.
 
The first segment of the book is called 'No Space' in which, she argues, that there is a deficiency in unbranded space in the modern world, with schools, streets, and cross-national boundaries all gracing the same logos of a few global companies. Main examples cited include Nike, the Gap & Pepsi amongst others. This new phenomenon of branding is portrayed to be pervasive across even the most stringent of boundaries including arts & music with corporate sponsorships causing a rocket in prices of attendance etc. Other arguments are made such as that of corporate censorship of media in 'family-friendly' stores and, more alarmingly, university campuses who have been threatened with gag orders to not publish research that undermines corporate objectives. All the arguments presented in the book are well-thought out and do highlight what was -at the time- a very obscure problem that had recently had the spotlight thrust upon it. With the economy becoming more focused on services as opposed to production, the American economy -along with the British economy- changed radically and this -she agues- is what has caused a significant proliferation of underpaid, overworked employees working for companies such as McDonalds. These arguments are backed up with sound evidence throughout, as can be seen with a cursory glance at the Appendix and Notes sections.
 
This section of the novel follows on expertly to 'No Choice'. Here she links the mass occupation of space to the notion of brands cannibalising competition in the market, citing numerous example from Wal-Mart price wars to the Starbucks model of self-cannibalisation between franchisees in the same town. She links the branding concept to synergies and mergers/acquisitions, which have given media conglomerates unprecedented power across the world, again citing many examples from News Corp (The Times, The Sun/NOTW etc.) to the Ted Turner empire of Time Warner/AOL (later deemed a disastrous merger.) This, she argues, provides the perfect opportunity for media companies such as Disney to channel their entertainment media exclusively onto their news media (ABC) and advertise through an uncontested channel. This is argued to have reduced the level of choice consumers have between brands and has made it more difficult for consumers to make decisions since -for example- someone opposed to Fox News and therefore wants nothing to do with it, may inadvertently give money to Fox via another News Corp. property e.g. The Wall Street Journal. From the American perspective, she states that the Reagan Administration was responsible for mass deregulation and removal of many merger laws, which have resulted in the ten largest mergers of the 20th century.    

Next, we have 'No Jobs' which argues the case against the new branded economy since many of the jobs that have gone into the now-deficient production function are overseas, paying slave wages. Being written at the twilight of the 20th century, this book was written in the aftermath of the initial scandal surrounding Nike and the Indonesian sweatshops, commenting on the lack of transparency that companies seem to have. This is argued to have precipitated the 'no choice' effect. However, the book doesn't merely focus on sweatshops but also on the underpaying service sector, directing criticism towards McDonalds with its anti-union stance and autocratic management style. She argues this to be yet another symptom of branding since the business model is not focused on making things anymore but on building lifestyles. She tells a variety of stories of fight-backs against this issue on university campuses etc.  

In the final section, she tells stories of resilience against large multinationals such as the Reclaim the Streets movement, Greenpeace etc. and focuses on three very resounding cases: Nike, Shell & McDonalds. She details the three cases meticulously from Nike's sweatshop coping mechanisms; Shell's oil rig sea disposal and John Major's unpopular backing of such an orthodox, yet unpopular method. Shell is also examined in the case of the Niger-Delta pollution and the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Shell station protests across Europe that ensued. Finally, McDonalds is put under the microscope in the famous McLibel trial, which ended in a humiliating result for the food giant. She uses these cases as a stepping stone, a microcosm of a new consumer who cares, is more critical and that for the first time, regular people were above the corporation.

in total, the arguments and cases used to back them are brilliantly implemented; a serious discussion as opposed to idealistic hyperbole. Of course the book points out what is obvious and there is little in the way of solutions suggested however, admitting the problem is after all the road to recovery and she does point out numerous bodies that are attempting to circumvent negative aspects of the modern corporate climate. This is heralded as a significant step forward for customer rights and the rights of workers, both domestic and international. A spot-on critique of what marketing/PR can and has been used for in all-too-recent times.