Harald Staun on 15 Nov 2000 10:56:08 -0000


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[Nettime-bold] Re: <nettime> No Logo is a good Logo


cpaul schrieb:

> > Any newspaper editor who has the courage to publish an article
> > about _No Logo_ should be praised for doing so.
>
> An article was published about Naomi and No Logo here in the
> Saturday Sydney Morning Herald last week.

There've been about a dozen articles about no logo, e.g. in The Guardian -
from a review to an interview and a large feature article - so i'm sure there
is no deficit of public attention towards the book (even in Starbuck's, people
read The Guardian from time to time).

That people might read the book at Starbuck's coffee tables as well, is no
accusation one can confront Klein with; it is one of the key problems the book
deals with. That brands, like capitalism as a whole, have been embracing
criticism, subversion etc. for a long time, is something  the author is fully
aware of. no logo is not a book about boycott, but about the possibilities of
criticism and counter-activism in a time where the market has found ways to
sell criticism and counter-activism as commodities (i remember a booth at a
festival in munich last year which was selling 'esoteric supplies', and only
my stong believe that i would get mine satisfied for free by television saved
me from buying a little bit of new and improved enlightenment there). So, the
most important question that arrises from the content of the book and the
discussion about its style alike is, in a nutshell, if brands should be
countered on grey paper or in a trendy outfit. Should we try to destroy or
copy them? Should we compete and beat them or boycott and bring to their
knees? Is it the only strategy left to build better brands, oris this a road
to, well, not the same shit in different packages, but to different packages
with a different shit, i.e. can criticism become a brand or does it  fail at
exactly that moment it receives and is perceived as a label and becomes a
commodity?

Harald





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