Obd-obsessive Branding Disorder : The Illusion Of Business And The Business Of Illusion

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.

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.

Publisher: PublicAffairs
Distributor: Perseus Books Group
Publication Date: 06-03-2008
Pages: 240
Measurements: 8.25in X 5.50in X 13.00oz