Branded

'Branded' is a new book very much in the tradition of Naomi Klein's 'No Logo'.

An incisive exposé of the underhanded advertising initiatives that target teens - and an exploration of their disturbing consequences.

It's no secret that corporations have always tried to woo teen consumers and currently spend billions of dollars annually to do so. The efforts to relieve kids of their money are pervasive, and not every sales pitch is benign.

In 'Branded', Alissa Quart takes us to the dark side of marketing to teens, showing readers a disturbingly fast-paced world in which adults shamelessly insinuate themselves into "friendships" with young people in order to monitor what they wear, eat, listen to, and buy.

We travel to a conference on advertising to teenagers and witness the breathless and insensitive pronouncements of lecturers there. We meet the unofficial teen "sales force" for a new girls' perfume (the unpaid daughters of the company's saleswomen) and observe the attempts of mega-corporations to purchase the time and space for product-placement in schools.

We witness the aggressive and potentially emotionally damaging ways in which adults seek to control vulnerable young minds and wallets. But we also witness the bravery of isolated and increasingly Internet-linked kids who attempt to turn the tables on the cocksure corporations that so cynically strive to manipulate them.