48 pages • 1 hour read
Naomi KleinNo Logo
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein (b. 1970) is a Canadian author and journalist. No Logo was her first major book and an international sensation, catapulting her to the forefront of leftist theory and politics in the early 21st century. Her other works include The Shock Doctrine (2007), a criticism of neoliberal economics, and This Changes Everything (2014), a treatment of the effects of capitalism on the climate and global warming.
The Brand/The Corporation
Besides Klein herself, the main character of No Logo is the set of multinational corporations that have created the prevailing cultural, economic, and environmental conditions of modern globalization. These corporations include a number of familiar brands, such as Walmart, Nike, Disney, the Gap, Marlboro, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Levi’s, Royal Dutch/Shell, and the Body Shop.
Phil Knight
Phil Knight (b. 1938) is an American businessman and co-founder of Nike. He is largely responsible for its meteoric rise since its creation in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports. Nike is perhaps Klein’s biggest target in No Logo, and she she frequently mentions Knight or quotes him to illustrate the business practices of “the Swoosh.” He is a key example of the “new rock star” CEO, along with Richard Branson of Virgin and Steve Jobs of Apple (81).
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-95) was a Nigerian writer and activist executed by the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha. A member of the Ogoni people, Saro-Wiwa was an influential opponent of the operations of the Royal Dutch/Shell oil company in Ogoniland in the Niger Delta. The international campaign against Royal Dutch/Shell and the Nigerian government sparked by his death is a major example of anticorporate activism used by Klein in Part 4 of No Logo.
The Marlboro Man
Though perhaps less well-known today due to recent restrictions on tobacco advertising, the Marlboro Man was as recognizable a marketing mascot as Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald for much of the 20th century. A handsome, rugged cowboy, the Marlboro Man represented the spirit of American individualism and toughness with which Philip Morris Inc. wished to imbue their cigarette label.
April 2, 1993, is known as “Marlboro Friday,” a key event discussed in Part 1 of No Logo. On this day Philip Morris Inc. cut the price of Marlboro cigarettes by 20% in order to compete with generic competitors. For Klein, this represented the admission that one of the most recognizable marketing symbols in the United States, the Marlboro Man cowboy, who first appeared in advertisements in 1954, was powerless to stop the flight of customers to unbranded, low-cost goods.
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