> Aldi tries to signify that absence with a lackluster presence, with mock marketing that conveys minimal effort.
I read the article as being that actually. It’s the postmodern “generic” label. The traditional mocking of the brands, so to speak, were the plain black on white products from the 40 years ago, but today it won’t fly, it needs to have a self referential ironic flare. But idea is pretty much the same.
The whole stated point of the article is that these things are neither real brands nor the absense of a brand.