The authors tone of voice is quite chatty, often talking about personal experience and story's from her past. The text is written in a quite informal tone however, the author does use some sophisticated descriptive language.
1
'It is not to sponsor culture, but to be the culture. And why shouldn't it be? If the brands are not products but ideas, attitudes, values and experiences, why cant they be culture too?'
This relates to how brand names and logos have become more than just a piece of art. They have now become signs of our culture, they portray more than just a logo, they can determine the cultural background of that person, where that person originates from and if someone is wealthy or poor. They sponsor football teams which then become part of our experiences. They can relate to a moment of joy when your supported team wins the league or can remind you of other similar experiences with the brand itself. By supporting sports such as golf or tennis, they can become a symbol of happiness or joyful past experiences.
2
'These logos served the same social function as keeping the clothing's price tag on: everyone knew precisely what the premium the wearer was willing to pay for style'
The branding has now become more desirable than the actual clothing itself. This is where fashion comes in and style starts to be left behind. Style is a way of portraying your identity using clothing and products whereas fashion is what is desirable in they eyes of the majority of people other than yourself. People sometimes follow fashion as it comes and goes, this is a point in history when branding was a big part of fashion at the time and the more you was willing to pay for your brands, the 'cooler' you would have been.
3
'Most significantly, the logo itself was growing in size, ballooning from a three-quarter-inch emblem into a chest-sized marquee'
At this point in her life, brand names were getting bigger both in hierarchy and literally on items of clothing. Brands are now starting to get smaller and smaller showing that as the cycle goes back around more people are starting to be more individual again rather than following generic brands. This just shows how cycles work in fashion, hairstyles, art and CD's. The use of vinyl records is currently increasing which is proof of another form of of one of these cycles.
4
'Tommy Hilfiger, who has managed to pioneer a clothing style that transforms its faithful adherents into walking, talking, life-sized Tommy dolls, mummified in fully branded Tommy worlds.'
She is trying to explain in a metaphorical way that some branding is followed that intensely, that it has become like a religion to some people and social barriers are created between groups of people just by the clothing which they wear. She also describes how certain brands can adapt their own language and that certain slang words can be labelled with specific brands. For example, when you think of Ralph Lauren, you think of the wealthy white young golf player who would probably attend private school and speak in a posh tone of voice. You can also label brands such as North Face with people from Liverpool, these are very stereotypical methods as of course not everyone in Ralph Lauren is wealthy and goes to private school however, this is what springs to mind when you think of the brand. This statement states that people can often be grouped underneath brands and possibly judged as a person simply by the clothing they wear.
5
'The rush of branding has become most dramatic in the film industry. At the same time that brand name product placement in films has become indispensable marketing vehicle for companies like Nike, Macintosh and Starbucks.'
This statement is describing the importance of the media and product placement in the growth of branding. For example, the iconic Austin Martin car in bond films has given the car the royalty and classiness which we know today. We do not think of James Bond films when we see an Austin Martin, however, subconsciously our brain processes these familiar signals from our memory's of the film.
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