A witty, trenchant investigation of a phenomenon that is shaping culture and business in unexpected, disturbing ways

The world is more branded than ever before: Americans encounter anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000 ads a day. Increasingly, brands vie for our attention from insidious angles that target our emotional responses (scent, taste, sound, and touch). In an ever-faster, more competitive global landscape fueled both by the rise of cheaper, foreign brands and by so-called house-brands (the eponymous brands of Wal-Mart, Target, and the like), American companies are in a mad dash to keep up. Branding, or identity-making, has begun to replace the research and development of yore.

From the fertile crescent of branding (Cincinnati), to the laboratories of sensory specialists (musicologists and "noses"), Lucas Conley takes us on a long-overdue journey through the strange culture that is our own. As hilarious as it is frightening, Conley's investigation into the phenomenon of rampant commercialism (often backed by little substance), offers an illuminating portrait of an age of obsession.

Andrew Keen, author of THE CULT OF THE AMATEUR: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture
"Lucas Conley has exposed how the ubiquity of advertising assaults us in today's always-on society. While products and innovation suffer, the cacophony grows. As both a parent and a media critic this is the most important book I've read on the dangers of our brand-obsessed culture. We all have a responsibility to read this book."

Rohit Bhargava, SVP, Ogilvy Digital Strategy & Marketing and author of Personality Not Included
"Contrary to what most marketers would have you believe, better branding is not always the answer. Lucas Conley brilliantly examines our branding obsessed age and offers an urgent call for a return to innovation, authenticity and quality every business should heed."

Douglas Rushkoff, author of Get Back in the Box
“The disease is real. Here's a cure.”

Boston Globe, August 3, 2008
“Tartly written…. [Obsessive Branding Disorder] is instructive, even entertaining…. Conley is a keen observer and a trenchant critic…. [A] timely call to arms.”

Lucas Conley is a staff writer at Fast Company. He began his career at the Atlantic Monthly. His work has also appeared in The Boston Globe and ESPN: The Magazine. He lives in New Mexico. This is his first book.

Imprint: PublicAffairs
Distributor: Perseus Books Group
Publication Date: 06-02-2008
Pages: 240
Measurements: 8.25in X 5.50in X 13.00lb