Where most branding books use a series of short case studies to illustrate thoughts, this is effectively one giant case study. The idea is that by getting inside Brand America, readers will find general branding lessons for their own products and services.

First published in 2004, at a time when the US was deeply unpopular around the world, the original book presented a gloomy picture of collapse in brand equity. Now, say the authors, the arrival of Barack Obama has transformed things. The US is once again on the up. "The Obama presidency has given the world a new, more palatable messenger-in-chief for Brand America and has set the stage for a new narrative about America to develop in the minds of the world's citizens."

If brands are modern fairy tales and myths, then the plot to this book about the US fairy tale just got a new, happier ending. Except even these gung-ho optimists admit that the "visions of America as the promised land are over" and after a tough year in the Oval Office, there are clear limits to what one man can achieve.