No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of physical illness, mental illness, and death.

The key theme in No More Tears is the difference between the public perception of Johnson & Johnson as a safe, reliable, ethical company and its unethical, sometimes criminal, internal practices which endangered consumers. This theme is well-illustrated in the title itself: No More Tears is a reference to the marketing of J&J’s baby shampoo, widely seen as a product safe for infants. However, like J&J’s Baby Powder, there are increasing concerns about whether that claim is, in fact, true. Throughout the book, author Gardiner Harris describes J&J’s public image and how it differs from its corporate practices.

Harris emphasizes that J&J is “the quintessential American story” (xvii). He notes that it is widely seen as “mother, medicine, and money all rolled into one” (xv). He describes how the company “has long been seen as a paragon of ethics” because of its “credo […] that J&J will never put profits before people” (xv). He argues that this highly positive image is bolstered by J&J’s careful reputation management. For instance, he notes that the company receives “overwhelmingly positive press coverage” because they “kill critical stories by threatening media outlets with financial ruin” by pulling ads (80).