N a o m i Klein
No Logo
(extract)
Pre-reading
Discuss the following sentence "corporations may manufacture products,
but w h a t consumers buy are brands". Do you agree?
Words in context
Read the following sentences from t h e t e x t and notice t h e words i n
italics. Use context d u e s t o help y o u
figure
out the meanings. Then
choose which definition is best for the italicised word.
1 . T h o u g h t h e w o r d s a r e u s e d interchangeably,
branding and advertis-
ing are n o t t h e s a m e
a) can b eexchanged w i t h o u t a problem
b) w i t h o u t
understanding
2. T h i n k o ft h e brand as t h e core m e a n i n g o ft h e m o d e r n
Corporation
a) large business company
b) office, factory, etc. where people work
3 . T h e f i r s t t a s k o f b r a n d i n g w a s t o b e s t o w p r o p e r n a m e s o n generic
goods such as sugar and ftour
a) u n h e a l t h y
b) shared b y o r t y p i c a l o f a w h o l e group o f t h i n g s
FROM WHERE YOU ARE
4 . B r a n d n a m e s r e p l a c e d t h e s m a l l l o c a l s h o p k e e p e r a s the
interface
inter'ehangeably a d v
udskifteligt
between consumer and product
advertising sb
a) t h e point where t w o things m e e t a n d affect each o t h e r
reklame
b) t h e person w h o s e j o b i t i st o sell goods
any given
hvilken s o m helst
sponsorship sb
5 . B r a n d s c o u l d conjure a f e e l i n g
sponsorat
a) destroy completely
logo licensing s b
b) m a k e s o m e t h i n g appear as a picture i n y o u r m i n d
udstedelse a f ret tila t
bruge logo
6 . T h e l o g o w a s t r a n s f o r m e d f r o m a n o s t e n t a t i o u s affectation
t o an
core s b
kerne
active fashion accessory
cor'poration sb
a) b e h a v i o u r o r a c t i o n t h a t i s n o t n a t u r a l o r sincere a n d t h a t is
often intended t oimpress other people
aktieselskab, virksomhed
vehicle sb
b) label a t t a c h e d t o t h e inside o f a piece o f d o t h i n g ,
giving
instructions about h o w i t should b ewashed and ironed
middel
con'vey v b
overbringe
range s b
7. A d v e r t i s i n g a n d s p o n s o r s h i p h a v e a l w a y s b e e n a b o u t u s i n g i m a g e r y
to equate p r o d u c t s w i t h p o s i t i v e c u l t u r a l a n d s o c i a l e x p e r i e n c e s
række
phonograph s b
grammofon
a ) t o fill
b) t o t h i n k t h a t s t h is t h e same as s t h else o ris a s i m p o r t a n t
wagon sb
vogn
inci'dental a d j
The Beginning of the Brand
tilfældig
IT'S HELPFUL TO go back briefly and look a tw h e r e t h e idea o f branding
first began. Though t h e words are often used interchangeably,
brand-
ing and advertising is n o t t h e same process. Advertising a n y given
product is only o n e part o fbranding's grand plan, asare sponsorship
and logo licensing. Think o f t h e brand a s t h e core m e a n i n g o f t h e
m o d e r n Corporation, and o f t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t as o n e vehicle used t o
convey t h a t meaning t o t h e world. The first mass-marketing campaigns,
starting i n t h e second hatf o ft h e n i n e t e e n t h century, h a d m o r e t o d o
w i t h advertising t h a n w i t h branding a sw e understand i t today. Faced
with a range o f recently invented products - t h e radio,
phonograph,
car, l i g h t b u l b a n d s o o n - a d v e r t i s e r s h a d m o r e p r e s s i n g t a s k s t h a n
10
creating a brand identity f o r a n y given Corporation; first, t h e y had t o
change t h e w a y people lived their lives. Ads had t o i n f o r m consumers
about t h e existence o fsome new invention, then convince thern that
t h e i r lives w o u t d b e b e t t e r i f t h e y used, f o r e x a m p l e , cars i n s t e a d o f
wagons, telephones instead o f mail and electric light instead o f oil lamps.
M a n y o f t h e s e n e w products bore brand names - s o m e o fw h i c h are still
around today - but these were almost incidental. These products were
themselves news; that was almost advertisement enough.
Branding
151
in'vention-based adj
b a s e r e t på n y e o p f i n d e l s e r
staple sb
stabelvare
strikingly adv
slående
salesmanship sb
salgsteknik
uniform ad)
ensartet
virtually adv
praktisk talt, i realiteten
com'petitive adj
konkurrencedygtig
The first brand-based products appeared a t around the same t i m e as
manu'factured sameness
t h e invention-based ads, largety because o fa n o t h e r relatively recent
fabriksskabt ensartethed
image-based difference
f o r s k e l d e r e r b a s e r e t på
image, ikke indhold
de'livering vb
udbringe, udsende
product news bulletins s b
innovation: the factory. When goods began t o b eproduced i n factories, not only were entirely new products being introduced but
old
products - even b a s k staples -were appearing i nstrikingly new forms.
What made early branding efforts different from more straightforward
salesmanship was that the market was now being ftooded with uniform
nyheder o m produkterne
mass-produced products that were virtually indistinguishable from one
be'stow vb
another. Competftive branding became a necessity of t h e machine age
skænke
proper name sb
egennavn
generic goods
basis varer
scoop v b
- within a context of manufactured sameness; image-based
difference
had t o b emanufactured along w i t h t h e product.
So t h e role o f advertising changed f r o m detivering product news
bulletins t o building a nimage around a particular brand-name version
of a product. The first task o f branding was t o bestow proper
names
øse, g r a v e
o n generic goods such a ssugar, flour, soap and cereal, w h i c h had pre-
tailored adj
viousty been scooped o u t o fbarreis b ylocal shopkeepers. I nt h e 1880s,
skræddersyet
e'voke vb
f r e m k a l d e , vække
famili'arity sb
fortrolighed
folksiness sb
folkelighed, hygge
counter'act vb
betl's S o u p , H J . H e i n z pickles a n d Quaker Oats cereal. A s design h i s t o rians and theorists Ellen Lupton and J .A b b o t t Miller note, logos were
tailored t o evoke familiarity and folksiness i n a n effort t o counteract
t h e n e w a n d u n s e t t l i n g a n o n y m i t y o f p a c k a g e d g o o d s . „Familiar p e r s o n a l i t i e s s u c h a s Dr. B r o w n , U n d e B e n , A u n t J e m i m a , a n d O l d G r a n d - D a d
modvirke
came t o replace t h e shopkeeper, w h o was traditionally responsible for
un'settling adj
m e a s u r i n g b u l k f o o d s f o r c u s t o m e r s a n d a c t i n g as a n a d v o c a t e f o r p r o -
foruroligende
packaged goods
færdigpakkede v a r e r
bulk foods sb
en gros varer
advocate sb
fortaler
interface sb
kontaktflade
152
corporate logos were introduced t o mass-produced products like Camp-
ducts... a nationwide vocabulary of brand names replaced t h e small local
s h o p k e e p e r as t h e i n t e r f a c e b e t w e e n c o n s u m e r a n d p r o d u c t . " A f t e r t h e
product names and characters had been estabtished, advertising
gave
t h e m a venue t o speak directly t o w o u l d - b e consumers. The corporate
„personality," u n i q u e l y n a m e d , p a c k a g e d a n d a d v e r t i s e d , h a d a r r i v e d .
For t h e m o s t part, t h e a d carnpaigns a t t h e end o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h
century and the start o f t h e t w e n t i e t h used a set o f rigid,
FROM WHERE YOU ARE
pseudo-
scientific formulas:
rivals
were never mentioned, a d copy used declara-
tive statements only and headlines had t o b elarge, w i t h lots o f w h i t e
e'stablished ad
fastslået, e t a b l e r e t
venue sb
s p a c e - a c c o r d i n g t o o n e t u r n - o f - t h e - c e n t u r y a d m a n , „an a d v e r t i s e -
sted
m e n t should b e big e n o u g h t o make an impression but not any bigger
rigid adj
stiv, streng
than the thing advertised."
But there were those i n the industry who understood that
pseudo-scien'tific adj
adver-
p s e u d o - v i d e s k a b e l i g , fal:
tising wasn't j u s t scientific; i t was also spiritual. Brands could conjure
adman sb
a feeling - t h i n k o f A u n t Jemima's comforting presence - b u t n o t
reklamemand
only that, entire corporations could themselves embody a meaning o f
con'jure v b
fremmane
their o w n . I nt h e early twenties, legendary adman Bruce Barton turned
comforting presene;
G e n e r a l M o t o r s i n t o a m e t a p h o r f o r t h e A m e r i c a n f a m i l y , „something
trøstende nærvær
p e r s o n a l , w a r m a n d h u m a n , " w h i l e GE was n o t so m u c h t h e n a m e o f t h e
em'body vb
f a c e l e s s G e n e r a l E l e c t r i c C o m p a n y a s , i n B a r t o n ' s w o r d s , „the i n i t i a l s o f
i n d e h o l d e , legemliggøre
pharmacist sb
a friend." I n 1923 Barton said t h a t the role o fadvertising was t o help
apoteker
corporations find t h e i r soul. The son o f a preacher, he drew on his reliburgeoning adj
gious upbringing for uplifting messages: „I like t o t h i n k of advertising
spirende
as s o m e t h i n g big, s o m e t h i n g s p l e n d i d , s o m e t h i n g w h i c h goes
a'wareness sb
deep
bevidsthed
d o w n i n t o an i n s t i t u t i o n and gets hold o ft h e s o u l o fit... I n s t i t u t i o n s
catchphrase sb
h a v e souls, j u s t as m e n a n d n a t i o n s h a v e s o u l s , " h e t o l d GM p r e s i d e n t
slagord
Pierre d u Pont. General Motors a d s began t o tell stories about
the
e'phemerai adj
people w h o drove its cars - t h e preacher, t h e pharmacist or t h e c o u n t r y
flygtig
d o c t o r w h o , t h a n k s t o h i s t r u s t y G M , a r r i v e d „at t h e b e d s i d e o f a d y i n g
termed adj
kaldt
c h i l d " j u s t i n t i m e „to b r i n g i t b a c k t o l i f e . "
pitchman sb
By t h e end o f t h e 1940s, there was a burgeoning awareness t h a t
sælger (på e t m a r k e d )
a brand wasn't j u s t a mascot o r a catchphrase o ra picture printed o n
agency sb
t h e l a b e l o f a c o m p a n y ' s p r o d u c t ; t h e c o m p a n y as a w h o l e c o u l d h a v e a
her: r e k l a m e b u r e a u
b r a n d i d e n t i t y o r a „corporate c o n s c i o u s n e s s , " a s t h i s e p h e m e r a l q u a -
at'tribute sb
egenskab
lity was t e r m e d a tt h e t i m e . As t h i s idea evolved, t h e a d m a n ceased t o
s e e h i m s e l f a s a p i t c h m a n a n d i n s t e a d s a w h i m s e l f a s „the p h i l o s o p h e r -
psycho'logical-anthropo'l
gieal a d j
king o f c o m m e r c i a l c u l t u r e , " in t h e words o fad critic Randall R o t h b e r g .
psykologisk-antropologisk
a'djust v b
T h e s e a r c h f o r t h e t r u e m e a n i n g o f b r a n d s - o r t h e „brand e s s e n c e , " a s
it i s o f t e n called - gradually t o o k t h e a g e n d e s a w a y f r o m
tilpasse sig
individual
add-on sb
products and their attributes and toward a psychological/anthropolo-
tilføjelse
gical examination o f w h a t brands mean t o the culture and t o people's
equity sb
lives. This was seen t o b e o f crucial importance, since
stamaktie
corporations
mania sb
m a y manufacture products, b u t w h a t consumers buy are brands.
vanvid
I t t o o k severat decades for the manufacturing world t o adjust t o
defining moment sb
this shift. I t clung t o t h e idea t h a t its core business was still produc-
d e t afgørende øjeblik
tion and that branding was an important add-on. Then came the brand
purchase v b
e q u i t y mania o ft h e eighties, t h e defining m o m e n t o fwhich arrived i n
købe, e r h v e r v e
1 9 8 8 w h e n Philip Morris purchased Kraft for $ 1 2 . 6 billion - six t i m e s
Branding
i
153
w h a t t h e c o m p a n y was w o r t h o n paper. T h e price difference,
r e n t l y , w a s t h e c o s t o f t h e w o r d „Kraft."
Construct the
right
compound word.
Mass-
Name
Life-
Production
Brand-
Billboards
Mid-
Up
Product-
Marketing
Be-
Nineties
Mini-
Sized
Scaiing-
FROM WHERE Y O U ARE
appa