http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/19/books/review/19ZEIDNET.html
'Pattern Recognition': The Coolhunter By LISA ZEIDNER
review of William Gibson's _Pattern Recognition_.
In the jagged cities of science fiction, there is a God -- or at least a Wizard of Oz -- and his name is Thomas Pynchon. ''Pynchon is a kind of mythic hero of mine,'' William Gibson has proclaimed. Gibson, who must be tired of hearing himself identified as ''coiner of the term 'cyberspace,' '' has gone to worlds not yet reached under Commander Pynchon's rule.
[clip]
The novel's heroine, Cayce Pollard, -- no relation to the Case of ''Neuromancer,'' though Gibson does like a sly self-reference -- is a freelance marketing consultant. She's so suspicious of trademarks that she sands the logos off the metal buttons of her jeans and has been known to suffer panic attacks at the sight of Louis Vuitton luggage, or the ''terrible eyes'' of the Michelin Man. But the advertising world reveres her. As a ''coolhunter,'' she penetrates ''neighborhoods like Dogtown, which birthed skateboarding, to explore roots in hope of finding whatever the next thing might be.'' Her current top-secret assignment takes her to London to evaluate a new logo for an athletic footwear conglomerate. [end clip]
Echoes of Tom Frank's _The Conquest of Cool_.
Peter
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Ian:
>That marketing-advertizing mavens are even discussing such a work almost
>4 years after it hit the bookstore shelves says something, no ? What was
>that Ghandi quip again?
>
>The changing face of the brand
>
>They began as cottage industries and ended up as global players. Now
>labels like Nike are out of favour on Wall Street - and losing their
>cool on the high street. What happens when a brand gets too big for its
>trainers?
>
>Geraldine Bedell
>Sunday January 19, 2003
>The Observer