Branded: The Buying And Selling Of Teenagers

I had to read this book over the summer for one of my classes. It came in good condition and in a fast, timely manner

Alissa Quart's "Branded" explores how America's youth are increasingly subjected to sophisticated but ultimately predatory forms of corporate marketing and branding. While the social reproduction of labor has been defined by capitalist requirements for many years, Ms. Quart amply demonstrates that the co-optation of today's youth has deepened and intensified. For many, the immersion in consumerism is so all-encompassing that it threatens to corrupt and corrode their mental self-images and possibly inhibit their ability to function as enlightened citizens.Ms. Quart shows that the marketing tactics used are often invasive and unscrupulous, amounting to a sort of "corporate pedophilia" whose aim is to grow the corporate bottom line at the expense of childhood itself. Indeed, the author explains that whole classes of products (such as sexually-provocative undergarments designed for pre-teen girls) are unapologetically marketed to ever-younger children, thereby accelerating the pace at which children develop, perceive and interact with their surroundings. Ms. Quart blasts the justifications used by marketers to defend such indefensible actions and alerts us to the moral vacuousness that lies at the heart of the corporate agenda.Ms. Quart argues that our children bear unmistakable psychological, physical and financial scars from this assault. Media-induced anxiety leads boys to steroid abuse and girls to anorexia; social acceptance is garnered by the flaunting of expensive designer clothes and accessories; class status is predicated by admission to brand-name colleges; and so on. The end result is a hyper-competitive, anxious and debt-ridden generation of youths who collectively are getting locked into the cycle of labor and consumption at a significantly earlier age than their predecessors.It may be true that Ms. Quart's work depends heavilly on observations drawn from the ranks of upper middle-class society, but she has impressively succeeded in describing a phenomenon that has largely eluded others. The reader is impressed by the author's ability to synthesize scholarly research, pop culture, business information, anecdotes and first-person interviews to make her case. In short, this is original and cutting-edge research that should give inquisitive readers much to ponder.I recommend this book to parents of teenagers (like myself) who want to understand more about the brave new world their children are inhabiting as well as to teenagers who want to critically deconstruct and reclaim their branded selves.

Branding is all about inculcating meaning into the collective mind. Consumption in industrialized nations has led to dynamic branding activities. Advertisers are using sophisticated psychological techniques to create social tribes around their brands. Penetrating influence of the branding machine is enormous and quite effective (if it wasn't, there would be no Madison Avenue). The concept of selling to kids isn't new; the sooner you recognize THEIR needs, aspirations, peer pressure, etc., the sooner THEY will identify your brand as THEIR own. Brands reach deeper into the youth's psyche in order to become almost an intrinsic part of the very fabric of kids' lives. Alissa Quart's book demonstrates accurately the process of creating loyal customers by advertisers. According to a survey of Americans aged 18 to 24, two-thirds cannot find Louisiana on a U.S. map. At the same time our children can perfectly recognize the golden arches."Branded: The Buying And Selling Of Teenagers" is a well-structured, informative book. Quart's vernacular is plain, clear, and unpretentious. As a professional brand consultant I recognize this book as a significant contribution to the ongoing development of branding discipline.

I feel like this book is slightly dated at this point. It's from 2004 and so much has changed since that time. It did assess the environment that I grew up in well, though, and I'd love to read an updated version

I have read a lot of book on media and how it affects kids and how teens are targeted by media etc. This book wasn't my favorite on the subject but it does cover some topics that I have not read about, like how expensive bar & bat mitzvahs are getting. She also doesn't just write about topics and share her POV, she goes in to places or conventions of corporate America to report on what actually goes on. Even though it was first published in 2003, some of it seemed to be out of date already. All in all, I did like reading it, but probably won't read it again.

My 14 year old dtr. is required to read this book for school. She says it is interesting and very factual. I only gave it 3 stars because she prefers non-fiction.

Very interesting. Though some of the facts are dated, a lot of the content is relevant more so today

Had to buy this book for a class, and I ended up really liking it. Being a marketing major I found Alissa's arguments very interesting.

good quality