" Marketing, at the time, sought to change people's lives rather then change the way they think. Mass marketing only became popular at the second half of the nineteenth century. In this chapter, Naomi Klein elucidates on such marketing terms as branding and advertising. Firstly, Scott Bedbury, an insider of the industry, gives a definition of the new and improved view of "branding". Scott Bedbury, the CEO of Brandstream, a Seattle-based marketing consultancy defines brands as "[ ] the sum total of all the images that people have in their heads about a particular company and a particular mark." Advertising giant J. Walter Thompson explains, "The difference between products and brands is fundamental. A product is something that is made in the factory; a brand is something that is bought by a customer." This demonstrates that it is not the product that sells these days, but rather the ad campaign. .
Branding has become successful in the sense that kids in the 21st century refuse to wear clothing that does not bear the logo of a company. Kids who do not wear the Nike "swoosh" running shoes or the Tommy Hilfiger jacket are not accepted and get made fun of at school. Corporate CEO's are using kid's insecurities as a way to sell their products. Consequently, if they can make their product seem "cool" then kids will buy to fit in. Schools and marketing companies choose to exploit each other for their own benefits. Marketing companies offer educational benefits (i.e. audio-visual equipment or computers) as a trade off for advertising space within the school. Often times, schools accept this exchange, in dire need of materials due to lack of school funding. Companies such as McDonald's and Subway are implementing themselves into the high school's causing rifts between the wealthy and poor students. Wealthy students can afford the more expensive food, while the poor students have to stick to the cafeteria food that is less appealing and much cheaper.
