Brand America will take a major hit if US does not act on Saudi ‘bone saws’ and dead journalists
The US needs to suspend all arms sales, freeze assets and impose sanctions against Saudi Arabia over the death of Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi – or risk devaluing the ‘strongest brand in the world’ – argues Scott Galloway.
Feelings are biochemical mechanisms that all mammals and birds use in order to quickly calculate probabilities of survival and reproduction. Feelings aren’t based on intuition, inspiration, or freedom. They are based on calculation. When a monkey, mouse, or human sees a snake, fear arises because millions of neurons in the brain swiftly calculate the relevant data and conclude that the probability of death is high.
– Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Evidence that a Washington Post journalist entered a consulate – often thought of as a safe haven – in Turkey and was then abducted, tortured, murdered and dismembered has the neurons firing.
Why? Common sense. The algebra of deterrence (probability of getting caught x penalty = serious shit) is the only thing standing between any of us and a bone saw.
Two scarier words: Plausible. Deniability.
Mastered by the supra-alpha-male in the world leader group – Vladimir Putin. Flubbed by a massively-entitled, myopically-thinking princeling who could not grasp the relative subtlety needed for the political world to simply brush over this. How much outrage will stop $110b of arms sales to the country? More than this ‘little’ episode I think.
This doesn’t affect Brand America; it’ll just end up re-setting the plausible deniability threshold to a lower point.
Sorry but this paragraph is codswallop:
‘People don’t buy Nikes because it’s a better shoe, but because it represents an American code: competitive excellence. The world doesn’t buy Fords because they are good cars, but because they represent the promise of a burgeoning middle class.’
People in middle England buy Ford Fiesta’s and probably believe they are as English as Tea and Marmalade on toast for breakfast. As for Nike: every young aspiring football (soccer) player in Australia does not in anyway associate Nike soccer boots with America. They relate them to Ronaldo et al.
The biggest thing to fck over brand America, in recent years is the Donald. Oh and America’s imperialism in general.