A Secret History of Brands

The Dark and Twisted Beginnings of the Brand Names We Know and Love

De: Matt MacNabb

Narrado por: Matt Godfrey

We live our lives immersed in name-brand products. It's hard to drive down the street without seeing a plethora of chain restaurants, car dealerships, branded clothing; they're all around us. What most of us don't know is that the origins of many of the most well-known and beloved brands in the world are shrouded in controversy, drug use, and sometimes even addled with blatant racism.

A Secret History of Brands cuts through the rumors and urban legends and paints a picture of the true dark history of famous brands, like Coca-Cola, Hugo Boss, Adidas, Ford, Bayer, Chanel, and BMW among others. Explore the mystery of the cocaine content of Coca-Cola, the Hitler-Henry Ford connection, and why Bayer is famous for aspirin but began their journey with heroin, and how Kellogg's Corn Flakes were crafted to deter sexual arousal. Thoroughly researched, MacNabb details firsthand conducted interviews alongside fairly weighed research to present the decisive view of brands histories that you haven't heard of yet.

©2017, 2018 Matt MacNabb (P)2021 Tantor

Mostly a Deep historic dive into a few brand’s seedy past

A lot of history surrounding pre-world war 2 German companies and what they did during the war and their affiliation with the Nazi party. Then a few stories about US companies focusing on what can only be described as disturbed owners and their fringe views or deranged tendencies. I was hoping for less deep dive and more of the quirky interesting stories. Leading off with the history of Coca Cola was the best portion of the book.