Awards

• Commended for Audies (Nonfiction) 2009

Overview

Using fascinating profiles of companies and products old and new, including Red Bull, the iPod, Timberland, and American Apparel, New York Times Consumed columnist Rob Walker demonstrates that modern consumers are likely to embrace marketing and use brands to craft and express their political, cultural, and even artistic identities. Combine this with marketers' new ability to blur the line between advertising, entertainment, and public space, and you have dramatically altered the relationship between consumer and consumed.

Full Product Details

9781602834309

Table of Contents

Reviews

""A compelling blend of cultural anthropology and business journalism."" -- ""Time"" ""A fresh and fascinating exploration of the places where material culture and identity intersect."" -- ""Michael Polan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of In Defense of Food "" ""Fass puts the energy of a caffeinated sports drink into his delivery, projecting the author's message like a super-salesman. He modulates his tone and volume to keep listeners' attention as they learn the trade secrets of 'commercial persuasion.'"" -- ""AudioFile"" ""Few observers have plumbed the subterranean poetry of marketing as thoroughly as Walker."" -- ""New York Times"" ""Provocative...richly reported."" -- ""USA Today"" ""Superbly readable...a thoughtful and unhurried investigation into consumerism...marked by meticulous research and careful conclusions."" -- ""Publishers Weekly (starred review)""

Buying In has vast social implications, far beyond the fields of marketing and branding. It obliterates our old paradigm of companies (the bad guys) corrupting our children (the innocents) via commercials. In this new world, media-literate young freely and willingly co-opt the brands, with most companies being clueless bystanders desperate to keep up. I really don't know if this is good news or bad news, but I can say, with certainty, that this book is a must-read. -- Po Bronson

Buying In has vast social implications, far beyond the fields of marketing and branding. It obliterates our old paradigm of companies (the bad guys) corrupting our children (the innocents) via commercials. In this new world, media-literate young freely and willingly co-opt the brands, with most companies being clueless bystanders desperate to keep up. I really don't know if this is good news or bad news, but I can say, with certainty, that this book is a must-read. -- Po Bronson The most trenchant psychoanalyst of our consumer selves is Rob Walker. Buying In is a fresh and fascinating exploration of the places where material culture and identity intersect. -- Michael Pollan

"""Buying In has vast social implications, far beyond the fields of marketing and branding. It obliterates our old paradigm of companies (the bad guys) corrupting our children (the innocents) via commercials. In this new world, media-literate young freely and willingly co-opt the brands, with most companies being clueless bystanders desperate to keep up. I really don't know if this is good news or bad news, but I can say, with certainty, that this book is a must-read."" -- Po Bronson ""The most trenchant psychoanalyst of our consumer selves is Rob Walker. Buying In is a fresh and fascinating exploration of the places where material culture and identity intersect."" -- Michael Pollan"

Author Information

Rob Walker is a journalist covering design, technology, business, the arts, and other subjects. He writes The Workologist for the Sunday Business section of The New York Times, and contributes to a variety of other publications and media outlets. His most recent book, co-edited with Joshua Glenn, is the collection Significant Objects: 100 Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things. He is on the faculty of the Products of Design MFA program at the School of Visual Arts. Robert Fass is a veteran actor and twice winner of the prestigious Audie Award for the year's best narration. He has earned many Earphones Awards and AudioFile magazine ""Best of the Year"" accolades.

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