Why Do Brands Cause Trouble? A Dialectical Theory of Consumer Culture and Branding

22 Pages·2002·0.21 MB·English

Journal of Consumer Research, Inc.
Why Do Brands Cause Trouble? A Dialectical Theory of Consumer Culture and Branding
Author(s): Douglas B. Holt
Source: Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 29, No. 1 (June 2002), pp. 70-90
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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Why Do Brands Cause Trouble? A Dialectical
Theory of Consumer Culture and Branding
DOUGLAS B. HOLT*
Brands are today under attack by an emerging counterculturalmovement.This
study builds a dialectical theory of consumer cultureandbrandingthatexplains
theriseofthismovementanditspotentialeffects.Resultsofaninterpretivestudy
challenge existing theories of consumer resistance. To develop an alternative
model,Ifirsttracetheriseofthemodernculturalengineeringparadigmofbranding,
premised upon a consumer culture thatgrantedmarketersculturalauthority.In-
trinsic contradictionseraseditsefficacy.NextIdescribethecurrentpostmodern
consumer culture, which is premised upon the pursuit of personal sovereignty
through brands. I detail five postmodern branding techniquesthatarepremised
upontheprinciplethatbrandsareauthenticculturalresources.Postmodernbrand-
ing is now giving rise to new contradictions that haveinflamedtheantibranding
sentiment sweeping Western countries. I detail these contradictionsandproject
thattheywillgiverisetoanewpost-postmodernbrandingparadigmpremisedupon
brandsascitizen-artists.
Theoldpoliticalbattlesthathaveconsumedhu- cietallydestructiveconsumerculture.InNorthAmerica,the
mankind during most of the twentieth cen- burgeoning influence of Lasn’s muckraking magazine Ad-
tury—black versus white, Left versus Right, busters (http://www.adbusters.org/), historian Tom Frank’s
male versus female—will fade into the back- books(1997,2000)andsassyalt.culturejournaltheBaffler
ground.Theonlybattleworthfightingandwin-
(http://www.thebaffler.com/), Eric Schlosser’s best-selling
ning, the only one that can set us free, is The
Fast Food Nation (2001), the Center for a New American
PeopleversusTheCorporateCoolMachine.We
Dream (http://www.newdream.org/), and the Utne Reader
will strike by unswooshing AmericaTM by or-
togethersuggestthattheantibrandingmovementisquickly
ganizingresistanceagainstthepowertrustthat
owns and manages the brand. Like Marlboro becoming a dominant chromosome in the DNA of Amer-
andNike,AmericaTMhassplasheditslogoev- ica’s counterculture. In particular, Naomi Klein’s book No
erywhere. And now resistanceto that brandis Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies (1999) has spun
about to begin on an unprecedented scale.We together a global antibranding movement (see http://
willuncoolitsfashionsandcelebrities,itsicons, www.nologo.org/) that links firms’ branding efforts to the
signsandspectacles.Wewilljamitsimagefac- central concerns—environmental issues, human rights,and
toryuntilthedayitcomestoasuddenshattering cultural degradation—of thoseopposedtouncheckedglob-
halt.Andthenontheruinsoftheoldconsumer alization. Standing in opposition to brands is no longer
culture, we will build a new one with a non-
merely an antiestablishment badge for youth; it is a full-
commercialheartandsoul.(Lasn2000,p.xvi)
fledged social movement (Economist 2001).
K
alle Lasn’s (2000) angry call to symbolic arms ex- Why do brands cause trouble? Viewed from within the
emplifies a potent new global movement. A counter- confines of the discipline of marketing, this potent new
culture is forming around the idea that the brandingefforts movement is inexplicable. Academic marketing theorizes
of global consumer goods companies have spawned a so- awayconflictsbetweenmarketingandconsumers.Suchcon-
flictsresultonlywhenfirmsattendtotheirinternalinterests
*Douglas B. Holt is an assistant professor at the Harvard Business rather than seek to meet consumer wants and needs. The
School, Soldiers Field, Boston, MA 02163; e-mail address: (dholt@ marketing concept declares that, with the marketing per-
hbs.edu). Earlier versions of this article were presented to the 1997 As- spectiveastheirguide,theinterestsoffirmsandconsumers
sociationforConsumerResearchConference,theUnitforCriticismand
align. The most puzzling aspect of the antibranding move-
InterpretiveTheoryColloquiumattheUniversityofIllinois,andtheDe-
partmentofMarketing,UniversityofWisconsin—Madison.NormDenzin, mentfromthisvistaisthatittakesaimatthemostsuccessful
TubaU¨stu¨ner,andG.MichaelGenettprovidedvaluablecomments.Gen- and lauded companies, thosethat havetakenthemarketing
erousandstimulatingcommentsbytheeditorsandreviewersofthisarticle concepttoheartandindustriouslyappliedit.NikeandCoke
aregratefullyacknowledged.
andMcDonald’sandMicrosoftandStarbucks—thesuccess
70
(cid:1)2002byJOURNALOFCONSUMERRESEARCH,Inc.●Vol.29●June2002
Allrightsreserved.0093-5301/2003/2901-0005$10.00
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WHY DO BRANDSCAUSE TROUBLE? 71
stories lauded in marketing courses worldwide—are the capitalismwasthefirsttorelyupontheideologicalpremise
same brands that are relentlessly attacked by this new thatsocialidentitiesarebestrealizedthroughcommodities.
movement. Challenges to capitalist interests, which regularly surfaced
Thegoalofthisarticleistodevelopatheoryofconsumer in early industrial capitalism in the form of labor conflict
culture and branding that explains why current branding andradicalpoliticalchallenges,weresmoothedoverbythe
practices have provoked such a vigorous response. I want new mass culture industries. This commodified mode of
to specify the tensions that exist between how firms brand subjectivityprovidedanextraordinaryalliancebetweenpo-
their products and how people consume. I begin with an tentiallyantagonisticpositions:itfacilitatedmarketinterests
empirical examination of the one research stream in mar- inexpandingprofitwhileatthesametimeitprovidedpeople
ketingthathasconsideredthisquestion.Thesecondsection with identities that satisfied (or at least deflected) their de-
buildsanalternativedialecticalmodelofbrandingandcon- mands for greater participation in the economy and polity.
sumer culture that explains how contemporary branding Horkheimer and Adorno (1996) argued that these new
principles have evolved historically. Finally, I circle back consumer identities were highly attenuated, produced pri-
to the emerging antibranding movement to understandten- marily through choosing from a range of slightly differen-
sionsbetweenthecurrentbrandingparadigmandconsumer tiatedgoods.Marketsegmentationisinherentlyatechnology
culture to speculate on their future directions. of domination. Segmentation is about “classifying, organ-
izing, and labeling consumers” (Horkheimer and Adorno
1996,p.123)ratherthanprovidingproductdifferencesthat
THE CULTURAL AUTHORITY MODEL are substantive. Product differences are quantitative, me-
chanical. The technologies of marketing—marketresearch,
segmentation, targeting, mass advertising—lead to a chan-
A variety of social sciences and humanities disciplines neling of culture that erases idiosyncrasies. The logic of
outside of business schools routinely examine the tensions mass marketing leads to least common denominator goods
betweenhowfirmsmarketandhowpeopleconsume.These that produce a conformity of style, marginalizerisktaking,
critical accounts of marketing have long argued that, col- and close down interpretation. Today, Stuart Ewen (e.g.,
lectively,firms’brandingeffortsshapeconsumerdesiresand 1988) and George Ritzer (e.g., 1995) are often invoked as
actions.Theconcept“consumerculture”referstothedom- contemporary advocates of Horkheimer and Adorno’s
inant modeofconsumption thatisstructuredbythecollec- (1996) cultural authority narrative, in which marketing is
tive actions of firms in their marketing activities. To work largely successful in channeling consumer desires through
properly, capitalism requires a symbiotic relationship be- brands.
tweenmarketprerogativesandtheculturalframeworksthat Another marxist tradition, influenced by the Italian the-
orienthowpeopleunderstandandinteractwiththemarket’s orist Antonio Gramsci, presents a more optimistic spin on
offerings.Theculturalstructuringofconsumptionmaintains the same thesis. While most people fall prey to these mar-
political support for the market system, expands markets, keting techniques, some are able to resist and take control
and increases industry profits. of the meanings and uses of commodities.Againstmarket-
These accounts are dominated by the cultural authority ing’s coercive cultural authority, individuals and groups
narrative.Marketersareportrayedasculturalengineers,or- fight back by investing commodities with more particular-
ganizing how people think and feel through branded com- izedmeaningsandusingtheminidiosyncraticways.Michel
mercialproducts.Omnipotentcorporationsusesophisticated de Certeau (1984) and John Fiske (e.g., 1989) are often
marketing techniques to seduce consumerstoparticipatein referenced as advocates of this more optimistic variant in
a system of commodified meanings embedded in brands. whichconsumersoftenareabletooutflankmarketers,rein-
Likewise, consumer culture is organized around the prin- scribing commodities with oppositional meanings through
ciple of obeisance to the cultural authority of marketers. their consumption practices. The latter theory, widely dif-
People who have internalized the consumer cultureimplic- fusedinmasscommunicationsandculturalstudies,hasbeen
itly grant firms the authority to organize their tastes. reworkedinconsumerresearch.Twocontributionsstandout
HorkheimerandAdorno’s([1944]1996)chapteronwhat as the most developed efforts to conceptualize consumer
they term the “culture industries” is the locus classicusfor cultureandhowpeoplemightresistitsnormativepressures
these ideas. They assert that the system of mass cultural through their consumption.
production, a set of techniques for rationalizing culture as
commodity,istheideologicalgluethatmaintainsbroadcon-
sensual participation in advanced capitalist society. By the
Reflexive Resistance: Filtering Out Marketing’s
timetheywrotethischapter,HorkheimerandAdorno(1996)
Influence
had given up on the emancipatory politics of marxism.In-
stead,theysetouttoexplainhowconsumerculturedefanged
political opposition by restructuring itastaste.Theyaimed JeffMurrayandJulieOzanne(1991)developamodelof
theirargumentspecificallyatthemasscultureindustriesthat consumer culture steeped in Horkheimer and Adorno’s
blossomed after World War II: television,consumergoods, (1996) logic, as well as that of others associated with the
music, film, and advertising. The modern era of consumer Frankfurt School. Consumer culture is, following Jean
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72 JOURNALOF CONSUMERRESEARCH
Baudrillard (1998), represented by the consumption code, mined subjectivity and that accelerate fragmentation (Firat
thesystemofculturalmeaningsthatthemarketinscribesin and Venkatesh 1995, p. 255). If a homogeneous market is
commodities. The code is an important example of what a totalitarian one, a diverse heterogeneous market signals
Ju¨rgen Habermas (1985) terms “distortedcommunication.” that firms no longer control consumers through their mar-
Habermasdescribesanidealspeechsituation,aninteraction keting efforts.
in which each party has an equal chance to speak unen- This view of consumer resistance is quite similar to that
cumbered by authority and in which norms of comprehen- of Ozanne and Murray (1995). But Firat and Venkateshdo
sibility,sincerity,legitimacy,andtruthfulnessareupheld,as not see the need for rational analysis to figure out how to
the standard by which to critique ideological domination. resist. They see a contemporary society already bubbling
Marketingisaformofdistortedcommunicationinthatmar- with various forms of resistance. Following Maffesoli
keters control the information thatisexchanged.Marketers (1996), they argue that consumers are beginning to break
organizethecode,andweasconsumershavenochoicebut
down marketers’ dominance by seeking out social spaces
to participate.
in which they produce their own culture, apart from that
Like de Certeau (1984) and Fiske (1989), Murray and
whichisfoistedonthembythemarket.Thesespacesallow
Ozanne(1991)envisionamethodtocombatthisoppressive
people to continually rework their identities rather than let
gridofimposedsocialmeanings,andtheyrecommendalist
the market dictate identities for them. In Firat and Venka-
of specific procedures. Emancipation from this system re-
tesh’s(1995)postmodernmodeofconsumerresistance,peo-
quires what Ozanne and Murray (1995) callthereflexively
plepursueanoncommittalfragmentedlifestyleinwhichthe
defiant consumer, a consumer who is empowered to reflect
production of self and culture through consumption is par-
onhowmarketingworksasaninstitutionandwhousesthis
amount.Thesenomadiclifestylesaremostlikelytoflourish
criticalreflexivitytodefythecodeinhisorherconsumption.
in social spaces removed from market influence.
Consumer resistance is possible if one developsareflexive
In their later work, Ozanne and Murray (1995) suggest
distance from the code (i.e., becomes code conscious), ac-
much the same thing. They propose that consumers can
knowledgingitsstructuringeffectsratherthanlivingwithin
emancipatethemselvesfrommarketer-imposedcodesbyal-
the code unwary (OzanneandMurray1995,pp.522–523).
teringtheirsignvaluetosignifyoppositiontoestablishment
Consumers can fend off the marketer-imposed codeifthey
are able to disentangle the marketer’s artifice from the use values. Since these oppositional meanings can be appro-
value of the product. priated by marketers, consumer resistance requires nimble
work. Consumers must change these alternative meanings
as soon as the meanings lose their oppositional value
(Ozanne and Murray 1995, p. 523).
Creative Resistance: Consumers as Cultural
Both theoriesarepremiseduponthesamerootmetaphor
Producers
for thinking about consumer culture and resistance. Con-
sumercultureisanirresistibleformofculturalauthoritythat
In a series of essays spanning more than a decade, Fuat generates a limited set of identities accessed through com-
Firat and AlladiVenkatesh(sometimesjoinedbyNikhilesh modities. Firms act as cultural engineers that specify the
Dholakia) have developed a view of consumer culture and identities and pleasures that can be accessed only through
resistance that culminates in their advocacy of liberatory
their brands. So both theories espouse a radical politics in
postmodernism (Firat and Dholakia 1998; Firat and Ven-
whichpeopleareabletoemancipatethemselvesfrommarket
katesh1995).Theirconceptionofconsumercultureparallels
dominationtotheextentthattheyareabletofreethemselves
Murray and Ozanne, but they historicize the account.Ech-
from its cultural authority. Murray andOzanne(1991)rep-
oing Horkheimer and Adorno (1996), they view marketing
resentthemarketingsystemasomnipotentbutexpresshope
as a totalitarian system. Comprising atotalizingimpulse,it
that through reasoned reflexivity, consumers can be eman-
operates as a panopticon. Large corporations apply ration-
cipatedfromitsgrasp.FiratandVenkatesh(1995)represent
alizingprocedurestoformconsumersenmasse.Peoplewho
marketing as omnipotent but inevitably fading, eroded by
consume within this logic are passive, nearly inert beings,
the increasingly fragmented and self-productive consump-
acted upon as objects (Firat and Venkatesh 1995, p. 255).
tion practices of postmodern consumers.
According to Firat and Venkatesh, marketerscontinueto
I will offer a critique and revision of these perspectives
dominatecontemporarysociallifeevenasallothersources
that begins with individual case studies of the everyday
ofelitepowerhavefaded.Theirliberatoryviewhingesupon
thenotionthattheincreasinglydiverseandproducerlyforms consumption practices that these theories describe. Then I
of consumption in postmodernity threaten the marketers’ willexpandtheanalysistodevelopamacroscopichistorical
dominance.Theysuggestthatweareinatransitionalphase account that challenges Firat and Venkatesh’s (1995) nar-
towardafull-blownpostmodernityinwhichtheproliferation rative.Iwillarguethat,whiletheculturalauthoritynarrative
of consumption styles will eventually liberate people from aptly describes modern branding circa the 1950s, it is an-
the market’s domination. Consumers are gradually but in- tithetic to thedominantpostmodernparadigmanddoesnot
evitably eroding marketers’ control through micro-eman- helptoexplaintheantibrandingmovementthatisnowforc-
cipatory practices, practices that decenter market-deter- ing the market to evolve. I offer an alternative framework
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WHY DO BRANDSCAUSE TROUBLE? 73
that seeks to explain the social tensions that animate con- sciousness and fragmented self-production—are enactedin
temporary branding. everyday life.
To select these cases, I culled informants from the soci-
METHOD oeconomic margins of American society. Sociologicalthe-
ory suggests that everyday resistancetothemarketismost
To study how consumer culture operates, I examine the likely to flourish at the periphery of the dominant social
phenomena that it structures, people’s everyday consump- institutions and statuses to which the economy is bound.
tionpractices.Inmethodologicalterms,Iwillusemicrolevel Those who live in subordinate positions with blocked mo-
data—people’s stories about their consumption—to inves- bility,whoaretheleastvestedinthemarket,whoaremost
tigate macrolevel constructs. To pursue this goal, I follow isolated from its network of social capital, are most likely
thelogicoftheextendedcasemethod(ECM),thetenetsof to develop oppositional practices (Collins 1976). My in-
which I will briefly review. formants live in positions structurally marginal to the mar-
The ECM originated in the Manchester School of social ket. They do not have regular jobs. They live off incomes
anthropology in the1950sandtodayhasbecomeafavored below or near the poverty level and in relative social iso-
methodology for researching macroscopic, often global, lation. They are not integrated into mainstream social net-
questions concerning markets and cultures from an inter- works (organizations, clubs, associations, friendships), nor
pretive perspective.SociologistMichaelBurawoyhasbeen do they participate in normative family life. This sampling
themostinfluentialexponentofthemethod.Hiskeyworks strategy is intentionally conservative to ensure that I will
(Burawoy 1998a, 1998b; Burawoy et al. 1991, 2000) that locate robust examples of consumer resistance.
clarify thedistinctiveaspectsofECMcomparedwithother I used a poster to solicit informants at a food bank in a
approaches inform this overview. small blue-collar town in central Pennsylvania that gave
TheECMmethodrefersnottodatagatheringtechniques away donated food to people below 125% of the poverty
but to an analytical logic that is applied to the data types line. This poster attracted 12 informants, men and women
typically used in interpretive research (field observation, of European descent (except for one Korean-American
interviews, primary source materials, archived texts). The woman),ages35–75years,whowereeitherunemployedor
methodispremiseduponwhatBurawoyterms“hermeneutic working part-time in transient jobs. Most were on welfare
science”(Burawoy1998a)or“reflexivescience”(Burawoy of some sort. Otherwise, their backgrounds varied consid-
1998b).Incontrasttohermeneutics,ECMseekstodevelop erably. Some had trouble holding a steady job. Some suf-
heuristic conceptual frameworks with explanatory power. fered from mental illness. Some were working poor who
TheorybuildingintheECMfollowsalogicsimilartoKarl hadslippedintoerraticmarginaljobs.Somewerephysically
Popper’sfalsificationistphilosophyofscience,inwhichob- disabled. And some made a strategic choice to live in a
jectivity “does not rest upon procedures but on the growth marginal economic position.
of knowledge, that is, the imaginative and parsimonious
reconstruction of theory to accommodate anomalies”(Bur- Data Collection
awoy 1998b). Like Popper, the goal is to use anomalous
data (data that existing theory should account for but does I conducted what Burawoy (1998a) calls narrativeinter-
not) to develop theoretical advances. views to gather empirical materials. Narrative interviews
The ECM is aligned with the sociological variant of cu- provide a particularly good fit with my researchgoals.The
mulative theory building in that it seeks to build contex- theories that I investigate view resistance as determined,
tualized theoretical explanations of social phenomena. Un- deliberateprojectsinwhichpeoplehaveformulatedastrat-
like natural science approaches to theory, in which egy for their consumption and seek to enact it. So these
constructsareassumedtobestableanduniversal,theECM consumption-based projects should yield plenty of discur-
seeks to map socioculturalstructuresthatchangeovertime sivematerial.And,withasufficientvarietyofconsumption
and that often take on qualitatively differentcharacteristics stories from each informant, I should beabletotriangulate
astheyoperateindifferentsocialcontexts.Asadiscovery- on the central consumption practices that constitute these
orientedapproach,thegoaloftheECMistoconstructfruit- projects.Participantobservationcouldhaveprovideduseful
ful extensions of theory rather than to subject alternatives complementarydatabutwasimpracticalgivenmyteaching
to a test. As a “craft” mode of science, ECM embraces obligations.
connection,proximity,anddialogueascomparedwithpos- Theinterviews,conductedinthehomesoftheinformants
itivemodesofsciencewhosehallmarksareseparation,dis- (all lived in apartments or with parents), lasted from 90
tance, and detachment (Burawoy 1998b, p. 12). minutes to three hours. In each interview, Isought toelicit
numerousconsumptionstoriesandgroundeddiscussionsof
tastesfromwhichIcouldinterpretpatternsofconsumption
Research Design
practice.Theconversationswerelooselystructuredbyques-
In line with the ECM, I chose cases that allow me to tionsthatintroducedthemostimportantlifestylecategories,
investigatetheoriesofconsumercultureandresistance.Spe- such as home and decor, fashion, television and movies,
cifically,Isoughtoutcasesthatwouldallowmetoanalyze reading, hobbies, socializing, tourism/vacations, food, and
how theories of consumer resistance—reflexive code con- music. I followed the same basic interview structure and
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74 JOURNALOF CONSUMERRESEARCH
technique that I have used in previous studies publishedin offeredbyFiratandVenkatesh(1995),fromwhichIdevelop
this journal (Holt 1997, 1998). an alternative theory of postmodern consumer culture and
branding.
For purposes of exposition, I will develop the analysis
Analysis
usingthetwoinformantswhobestexemplifythetwotypes
Unlike either phenomenological studies or cultural eth- of resistance described in the literature. The otherthreein-
nographies, the ECM, as a hermeneutic science, requires formants evidenced similar resistance but in more varied
analytic reduction of empirical materials. Rather than rep- combinations (see table 1).
resentcasesinalloftheircontextualandbiographicalcom-
plexity, the goal is to examine the theory in question as it
plays out in a particular sociohistorical context. The ECM THE COMMODIFICATION OF
analyses progress through two levels. First,Iengageinan- PERSONAL SOVEREIGNTY
alytic reduction across time and space to aggregate a wide
varietyofcontext-specificactivitiesintothemostprominent
Case 1: How Reflexive Resistance Produces the
practices that my informants use to interact with commod-
ities (microreduction). Commodification of Personal Sovereignty
After several initial rounds of interpretation, I worked
Dressed in camouflage shorts, a T-shirt, and gym shoes,
with five of the initial 12 informants whose interviews re-
Paul meets me outside his parents’ranch house.Heshakes
vealed that they engaged in consumerresistanceasdefined
my hand enthusiastically and greets me with formalityand
intheliteraturereviewedabove(seetable1fordescriptions).
deference. Paul is 32 years old, short and muscular, ex-
I mapped the dominant consumption practices in conver-
tremely intense, and articulate. After returning from astint
sation with the various theories of consumer culture and
inthearmedforcesandafewyearsofcollege,hehaslived
resistance that I wanted to extend.
at home for five years. A $500-per-monthdisabilitybenefit
InthesecondstageoftheECM,structuration,theanalysis
provides his income. He leads me through the house into
movesfrommicro to macro.Consonantwithotherintegra-
the unfinished basement that serves as his apartment. We
tive social theories such as those advanced byPierreBour-
face one another across an 8-foot folding utility table that
dieuandAnthonyGiddens,“hermeneuticscienceinsistson
sits beneath an overhead fluorescent light. Paul chain-
studying the ethnographic world from the standpoint of its
smokes Marlboros throughout our extended conversation.
structuration, that is by regarding it as simultaneously
shaped by and shaper of an external field of forces” (Bur- Filtering Out Propaganda. Just as he views other
awoy 1998a). This interpretive movement requires that I mass media like television, radio, and films, Paul views
link consumption practices to the social forces that shape marketingaspropaganda.Aself-trainedstudentoffilmand
howpeopleconsume:consumercultureandmarketing.And, journalism, Paul is engrossed by the techniques used by
finally, in the last stage of the ECM, reconstruction,exten- thesemediatoshapehowpeoplefeelandact.Asateenager,
sions of theory are developed. In the second part of the hebegantounderstandhowthemediaworkstocreateanx-
analysis,Iconstructanalternativehistoricalnarrativetothat ieties and desires.
TABLE1
CONSUMERRESISTANCECASESUMMARIES
Informant Background Reflexiveresistance Creativeresistance
Paul 32yearsold Filtersoutmarketingmanipulation
Single Distillsusevalue
Disabilityincome Commodificationofpersonalsovereignty
Don 47yearsold Brandsasculturalresources
Wifedeceased Producerlyconsumption
Itinerantwork Lifeworldspaces
Commodificationofpersonalsovereignty
Joe 46yearsold Producerlyconsumption
Married,separated Lifeworldspaces
Itinerantmusician Commodificationofpersonalsovereignty
Elvisimpersonator
Janice 36yearsold Filtersoutmarketingmanipulation Producerlyconsumption
Married Attemptstowithdrawfrommarket Lifeworldspaces
Part-timedaycareworker Commodificationofpersonalsovereignty
Marian 54yearsold Filtersoutmarketingmanipulation Lifeworldspaces
Married Avoidsbrandchoice
Husband’sdisabilityincome Commodificationofpersonalsovereignty
NOTE.—Forsevenotherinformants,negligibleconsumerresistanceevidencedininterviews.
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WHY DO BRANDSCAUSE TROUBLE? 75
Paul(P):SomethingaboutDallas:everytimeIwatchedthat P:Idon’tlikegardening.Idon’tlikeyardwork.Infact,my
I became anxious and wanted money. I was pretty young idealhousewouldbeastonehousewithacopperroofwith
whenthatwason.ButeverytimeIsawthatstuffandIsaw nowindows.Therewouldbenomaintenancetodo.Andfor
all of those beautiful people, I wanted money and power. I a front yard I’m going to have pine trees. I’mjustgoingto
thinkIwasprobably13or14whenthatfirstcameon.And letthemgo,youknow.Iwillnotspendmyyears,especially
Ialwaysremember,likeIsaid,feelinganxiousafterwatching myremainingyears,retiredyears,Ishouldsay,cleaningup,
this. When is it going to be my turn to have these things? fixing a goddamned house and cleaning the fucking yard.
I’m going to do other things besides that, you know. But I
Pauldeploysskepticismandknowledgeasweaponsagainst amnotgoingtospendmyretiredyears,orfrom50untilthe
marketing’s propaganda. To hone these skills, Paul studies day I die, working on my goddamned house, painting my
all forms of mass media to understand how propaganda fuckinghouse,and. . .andcuttingthefrigginggrass.[Ag-
works.Forinstance,heclaimstohavewatchedKurosawa’s itated.Raisedvoice.]I’mnotgoingtodoit.Ijust. . .there’s
SevenSamuraiover70timesbecausehe’sfascinatedbythe much more to live than this middle class, you know, thing,
director’sadepttechniquesinproducingparticularmeanings you know. And ifI. . . and ifIeversee. . .ifIeversee
and emotions. He is an avid history buff as well, usinghis oneofthoseglassballssittinginfrontofmyyard.. . .Oh,
readings to defend himself againstthemarket’sdistortions. those silly things.
Paul’s teenage suspicions have evolved into a confron-
Here, Paul argues for a utilitarian approach to lawn and
tational style in which he analyzes every commodity he
garden.Ratherthanaccepttheexpensiveandlabor-intensive
encounters to reveal the marketer’s distortions. (Not coin-
aestheticthatthemarketpositsaspartofthegoodlife,Paul
cidentally,hisfavoritesongistheWho’s“Won’tGetFooled
advocates maximizing utility and minimizing labor.
Again.”) Each of his consumer acts begins with a decon-
structive moment in which Paul seeks to strip marketer- Shopping as Sovereignty Game. Ironically, Paul’s
imposed meanings from his decision calculus. adamant quest to control market influences leads him to
routinely enter market competitions with great dedication
Denying Aesthetics to Distill Functional Utility.
and zeal. Paul is a shopping engineer, evaluatingconsumer
Paul assumes that aesthetic pleasures are created by mar-
goods using a precise and comprehensive calculus similar
keting and therefore resists all products’ aesthetic consid-
to those advanced by economic decision-making models.
erations. To him, aesthetic claims are always false, always
Helovestoshop,andheinvestsenormousamountsoftime
subterfuge.Heisonlyinterestedinthosepropertiesofcon-
researching purchases in order to ensure that he only buys
sumergoodsthatservefunctionalpurposes,andheaimsto
products of the finest construction and materials.
isolatethetrueutilityofthesegoodsfromthefictionalqual-
ities claimed by marketing. Hequicklydismissesphotosof
P: I tend to hunt out . . . I try to find the quality stuff. I
women’sclothingIshowhimbecausetheysuggestthatthe
mean I . . . I think that everything that I own is probably
women have needlessly succumbed to the false values im-
ofprettygoodqualitybecauseI’vetakentimeandIjustbuy
posed by the brands. Similarly, herefusessensorypleasure
apieceamonthyouknow.Likeapairofgoodtennisshoes.
infood:“EssentiallyIstilltrytojustusefoodassustenance
You know, buy something nice once a month.
and not to enjoy it too much. I really don’t care as longas
I’m not hungry . . . hunger pains and things like that.” Paul’s acquisition of two Stiffel lamps for his unfinished
Recountingrecentmeals,hislistincludesfourorfivepeanut basementapartmentdemonstrateshistenacityasashopper,
butter and jelly sandwiches because they’re quick. “Some- the high drama produced by thecompetition,andthesense
times I’ll wash a potato and just eat a raw potato, heating of accomplishment he gets out of beating the marketusing
up a can of corn or heating up a can of green beans.” exhaustive research.
Paul’s quest to extract authentic utility fromallproducts
forces him to reject most social life. Since he finds brand P:Yeah.Ihavetwobrasslamps.Solid.Realnicebrasslamps.
propaganda infecting most everything he encounters, he’s Oh, here’s the box of one. Okay? I like nice things. Okay?
adoptedasolipsisticworldviewandlivesasahermitinthe And ifIonlyhaveahundredbucksandIseeabrasslamp,
basement. He allows entry only to those fewmaterialsthat somethingthatIdon’thavethatIwant,I’llspendthehundred
havesuccessfullypassedhisideologydetectionprocedures. bucks and get the lamp and then find some way to make it
(Asarepresentativeoftheacademy,thesymbolofskeptical through the week.That’show I operate.
and rigorous truth, I was quicklyanointed.)Hefinds“shal-
Interviewer(I):So what is it about the nice brass lamp?
low”thosepeoplewhoallowthemselvestobecorruptedby
consumer culture. Paul metes out harsh criticism to
P:They’resturdy.They’reeasytoclean.Thisparticularbrass
those—“the ignorant”—who succumb to the seduction of
lamp doesn’t tarnish. Allyouhavetodoiswipeitoffwith
market-created desires. His neighbors’ fanatical pursuit of
a dust cloth.
the perfect lawn and garden serves as a condensed figure
for the “keep up with the Joneses” lifestyle of those who, I: So can you tell me: for the lamps orsomeoftheseother
devoid of critical reason, succumb to the dictates of con- thingsyoubought,whatwastheprocessofshoppingforit?
sumer culture. Sounds like you really spent time at it and enjoyed it?
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76 JOURNALOF CONSUMERRESEARCH
P:Well,firstIfoundthepeoplewhospecializeintablelamps. Case 2: How Creative Resistance Produces the
Andthinkthereareonlythreeinthiscounty.Orinthisarea. Commodification of Personal Sovereignty
The State College–Bellefonte area. And then I went to the
one who had the most selection. And then I went through Don is handsome, tall, and thin, 47 years old, with an
theircatalog.Itookanhourandwentthroughtheircatalogs ear-to-ear grin and bulging eyes. He resembles a character
and I found the style I wanted. And I looked at the price. actor. A convivial man, Don bursts with infectious enthu-
And if the price wasn’t what I wanted, I went to another siasm throughout the interview. He has avoided the domi-
style. Went to anotherheight oflamp. I. . .IknewwhatI nant work-and-spend ethos all of his adult life, choosing
wantedtospend.Iwentouttothisplace,thislamp. . .this leisure over income since he graduated from college more
electrical place, for instance. I wanted to spend somewhere than 25 years ago. Don consciously minimizes his depen-
between. . .forinstance. . .justforanexample,Iwanted dence on the market so that he can focus energy on his
tospendsomewherebetween300and450dollars.Preferably favoriteactivities.Herentsaramshackledouble-widetrailer
below350dollars,youknow.ButifIhadtogoto400dollars, in a nondescript town.
I would. And I tried to find a style that fit into my budget
Don(D):Aplacetoliveisjustaplacetohangyourhatand
and what I wantedto spend for that product.
hang out so you cangodosomething.Kindoflikeamotel
I:Letmeaskyouaquestion.Before,youweretalkingabout when you go to the shore or whatever. It’s just a place to
how you’reon low income right now. sleepsoyoucanoperatefromthere.Idon’tputalotofeffort
herebecausemostofmyeffortgoes,youknow,todancing,
P: Yeah,about 500 dollars a month. to bicycling, to racquetball.It goes out there.
I:And,youknow,spending50centsforamovie,yousaid, Like housing, Don thinks that food and clothing are utili-
is expensive. tarian items that should be attended with little expenditure
(thoughstillwithabitofpanache,ifpossible).Onceaweek,
P: It adds up. Yeah.
hebikes20milesround-triptoshopforgroceries,stopping
I: So it sounds like spending 300 bucks for some lamps is ateachofthethreemajorstorestoshopfortheweeklyloss-
alot.Whatmakesitworthittobuy300-dollarlampsinstead leader specials, stockpiling several weeks’ worth of items
of a 20-dollar lamp that you could buy at Lowe’s or Wal- that are especially cheap. Don fills out his supplies with
Mart? miscellaneous canned goods and leftovers from local res-
taurantsgiventohimbythefoodbank.Cookingisacreative
P: Well, that’s a good question. I’ve . . . well, they look endeavorinwhichDonworksoutrecipesthatprovidesome
cheap. You know, I went to Lowe’s. I first went to Lowe’s aestheticvarietyusingthesebasicgoods,andhefindstasty
and Wal-Mart and was . . . came . . . went out . . . left waystouseupwhatheisgivenforfree.Similarly,hebuys
completely disappointed. I couldn’t find a solid brasslamp. most of his clothing at thrift shops, and much of it hangs
. . .Icouldn’tfindasolidbrasslamp.Okay?Notone.Not on a clotheslinestrungacrosshislivingroom.Donfocuses
even. . .notevenonthelowestlevel.Youknow,theywere his energies on his four current avocations: biking, film,
all alloy or tin with brass plating, you know. I didn’t want dancing, and racquetball.
that because they looked . . . they didn’t look good, you
know. Just didn’t look good. I went to Lowe’s and I went Culling Useful Cultural Resources. Don views mar-
to some of these discount placesand I left disappointed. ketingasanerraticsugardaddy,asthebenevolentandpro-
lific, but not particularly selective, provider of an extraor-
Costbecomesirrelevantinthesedramas.Pauldescribesthe
dinary grab bag of playthings. Unlike Paul, Don has not
same methodical process for shopping foravarietyofeve-
developedawell-honeddiscursivecritiqueofthemarketas
ryday items. Shopping is a psychically chargeddomainfor
the proselytizer of superfluous meanings. Rather, Don
him because it is through shopping that he can best dem-
evinces a practical understanding of the market in which
onstrate the viability of his propaganda-filtering mode of
brandedgoodsserveasvitalresourcesbecausetheyarethe
consumption.Bywinningmanysmallbattleswiththemar-
props with which he constructs his avocation-driven life.
ket, Paul demonstrates that he is no marketing puppet.
However, because the market is so promiscuous in gener-
ating these props, they are often invasive. To Don, com-
P: I like to shop when I don’t have to. Do you know what
modities demand a stern father figure, an iron-fisted editor
Imean?IliketoworkhardwhenIdon’thaveto.Youknow?
who carefully selects those that are useful for current pro-
I like to cut corners when I don’t have to. Because you’re
jects. He tenaciously eliminates goods that fall outside his
going on the offense.You’renot on the defense.
currentareaofinterest.WhereasPaulrejectsbrandedgoods
Paradoxically, Paul’s highly reflexive and focused defense asathreateningformoffalseconsciousness,Donrigorously
against the market’s attempts to trick him also draws him patrolsthemarketingandmediachannelstoselectivelycon-
toparticipateinthemarket,creatingforhimameta-identity trol his intake. For example, he likes “good” ads and even
as sovereign consumer. Manufacturers like Stiffel, posi- watches reels of the award-winning television spots, but
tionedtoexpressenduringqualityratherthantransientstyle, hates to have ads imposed on him repetitively. Before the
readily appeal to Paul. adventofremotecontrol,hejury-riggedawirerunningfrom
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WHY DO BRANDSCAUSE TROUBLE? 77
his television to an on-off switch that he kept next to his learning as much as possible and creatively building his
chair so that he could zap ads. abilities. These activities take place apart from the market
in the types of spaces that Firat and Venkatesh (1995) ad-
CreativeSelf-ProductioninNonmarketSpaces. Late
mire, such as the halls borrowed for dances, the university
afternoons, two days a week, Don rides his bike 10 miles
intramural facility, and Pennsylvania’s back roads.
to take advantage of the free open slots on the university
racquetballcourts.Hedoesnotsetupregulargames;instead, Self-Production through Brands. Don’s living room
he plays anyone who is willing, until the courts areempty, is crowded with five bikes, two of them assembledandthe
sometimes as late as 11:00 p.m. He is totally absorbed by other three in various stages of rebuilding. Don is, in the
all elements of the game—strategy, endurance, and tech- colloquial terminology of American sports aficionados, a
nique—and he is rarely sated. With inferior competitors, gearhead. Tour biking and mountain biking have evolved
Don will play left-handed or work on one particular shot. intoextremelyspecializedindustrieswithmanysmallman-
Don isequallypassionateaboutdancing.Hedancessev- ufacturers competing to develop components with slight
eralnightsaweek,oftentravelinghundredsofmilesonthe technical and design advantages. Donobsessivelysoaksup
weekendsforagooddance.Hedancesfourdifferentstyles knowledgeabouttheseinnovations,seeksoutthosethatwill
(contra, waltz, English, and square) and constantly learns improve his bikes, and coordinates the selected pieces in
new moves. Like his other avocations, Don’s style of con- harmonic combinations like a symphony conductor. He is
suming is to throw himself into the activity and push his adamant that he relies on his own judgments about com-
creativity and skill development as far as he can. He is ponents, proudly bucking convention when he figures out,
always looking for innovations. through trial and error, a better way of doing things. He
spends 20 minutes patiently and excitedly guiding me
D:I’vedoneBusch Gardens[inWilliamsburg,VA]several
through the ins and outs of arcane mountain biking gear.
times. And the last time, Nick and I ran Beth through. We
Hesubscribestoeverybikemagazinehecanfind:Bicycling,
justdidalltheplaysandtheshows.AndinfactIevencopied
Mountain Biking, Bike, Mountain Bike, and MountainBike
oneoftheirideasforthesquaredancething.Whenthesquare
Action. A stack of these magazines towers above the arm
dancersputontheseperformances,likewhenwegettogether
of his chair.
foraClearfieldweekend,oneoftheonesIdidwasdrybones.
I took a skeleton and found where it naturally divided and I:Whenyou’rereadingthesebikingmagazines,whatareyou
gotstickswithVelcroonandblacklighteditandhadallthe getting out of that?
peoplewiththedifferentstickssowhenyoudisconnectthem
D: What’s going on in the industry. What’s happening.
bones,youknow,theheadbonedisconnects.Well,theperson
What’stheneweststuff.Forinstance,Isawathinginthere
picks the stick up and you’re standing there watching this
called a Sachs 3 # 7 hub. I now own two of them. Plus I
and the neck disconnects and the arms disconnect and then
own a seven-speedinternal.
you connect them all back up again. Tore the house down
withthat.Yeah.AndIlearnedthatatWilliamsburg.Iwatched
I: Is that good?
howtheydidit.AndIsaid,“Iknowhowthey’redoingthat.”
SoIbroughtthathome.Iliketheshowsbecauseit’screative. D: Oh, it’s fantastic. A lot of people have seven-speed
It gets my mind involved. external.
Similarly, Don approaches film and educational television I:What’saSachs. . .let’sstartwiththehubhereyouwere
withthezealofagoodPh.D.studentconductingaliterature talking about.
review. He moves systematically through films using a
D: Okay. The hub is the . . . the . . . I can show you a
movie guide, rating the films that he has seen and passing
Sachs 3 # 7 hub. See, there’s three speeds internally and
along recommendations to friends and family who arealso
seven speeds externally. Three times seven. What’s three
movie buffs.
times seven?
Don’sfourthcurrentavocationisbiking.Donbikeswith
extreme gusto, seeking out the hardest, longest, most ex- I: Twenty-one.
hilarating rides. He grimaces appreciatively, reminiscing
about“century” (100-mile)ridesthatleavehislegsaching. D:SoIgot21-speedrearendwiththathub.Igotthreerings
Just as Firat and Venkatesh (1995) advocate, Don’s life up front. What’sthreetimes twenty one?
is marked by a fragmented progression through life
I: You got quite a few.
world–basedavocationstowhichheisintensivelydedicated.
In addition to his current passions, he has previously been D:Sixty-three![Screams.]Thereisn’tahillbuiltIdon’tlove.
enthralled with playing banjo and bass guitar, singing in a [Laughs.] I can put this thing in any gear I want. Now I
local barbershop quartet, and flying kites (he still has 100 wouldn’tdothattomymountainbike.Justtomyroadbike.
kites in his collection). When newopportunitiesarise(e.g., See, I have another one out there that’s a42-speedbecause
hisnewgirlfriendencouragedhimtotrydancing),heshifts it only has two rings up front. And that wasn’t enough. I
gears and throws himself into the activity until he loses neededthethirdringtogetthatextrabiteonthehills.Igot
interest. He avidly participates as an apprentice-enthusiast, too much top end and not enough bottom end. I’d like two
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78 JOURNALOF CONSUMERRESEARCH
more gears bottom end on this bike. So when you come to I:Sothat’sbetterthananyoftheseshocksystemsyouthink?
the really nasty stuff. And . . . check this out, see? That’s Or a lot cheaper?
aGirvinFlex.Frontendsuspension.Seethis?Checkunder
D: Well, I like it because it’s the best ofboth worlds.Your
here. See springs? There’s springs up under there. There’s
bike still rides like a hard tail, you know. But you still got
gel here.I mean I’m talking comfort.I am not into pain.
the [makes sound]with noneofthedistractions.Likewhen
I: You’retalking hundred miles of shock afterall this . . . you got telescopic shocks, a lot of times you have to put a
stiffener on there because they tend to try to flex this way.
D:Yeah,exactly.NowIgotaSoftRideonthatthat’seven
Theonewillgodownbeforetheother. . .youdon’thave
more . . . this is just a little bit. But you don’t need that
that with this. With this system. It’s lighter than anything
much on a road bike. You need a lot more on a mountain
they can put out. It’s got all the advantages as far as I’m
bike. But that’s a Sachs 3 # 7 hub. And they’re like 200
concernedand none of the disadvantages.
bucks. But it’s worth it. It’s well worth it because it does
what I need plus when I trade this bike in or give it to I: Why do you think people are still buying the telescopic
somebodyelse,I’mtakingthatwheelwithmeandit’sgoing stuff? Becauseof the big expense?. . .
on my next bike.
D:Becausethey haven’t checkeditout.Theyhaven’tread.
I: How much do you think you have in this bike? They aren’tinformed.[Laughs.]
D:Probablyclosetoathousandbucks.Ouch.[Laughs.]And Donexpressesamarket-basedengagementwithcycling.He
then the same with that one. I got five bikes. . . . But I is a producerly expert who works market offerings to suit
wouldn’t know about it unless I readthe magazines. his highly discriminating tastes. He scours the trade
Later in the interview, Don offers another example of his publications to find thelatestgizmosthatwillallowhimto
discerning iconoclastic preferences for gear that he hasde- furtherexperimentwithhisbikes’comfortandperformance.
veloped through his enthusiastic embrace of biking. Despite his limited budget and regardless of cost, he is al-
ways willing to make changes in what he owns if it will
D:There’s aguy named Breezer.Haveyoueverheardofa improve his biking.
BreezerBeamer? Don,likePaul,offersaparadoxicalcaseforunderstanding
consumer resistance. Don is a commodity bricoleur, never
I: No. BreezerBeamer?
accepting market dictates, always using brands for self-
D:Yep.Icanshowyouoneinaboutahottwosecondshere. creation rather than allowing brands to define him. Yet he
He designed a bike with shocks . . . you know, the most isalsoanexemplaryconsumer.Heproudlyassertshisiden-
popular of those Rockshox. And they’re . . . well, it’s just tity through his fine-grained brand choices. He is totally
easierto showyou thebike. Here’swhataBreezerBeamer immersedinthesearchforthenewandimproved,theexotic,
looks like. thenextbigthing.ForDonthereisnosuchthingassticker
shock, only finding bargains within the parameters of the
I: Oh, gee. I’veneverseen a seat like that. What is that?
game the market offers.
D: That’s the Soft Ride. Soft Ride system. Here’s what a
I:Letmeaskyouaquestion.Forsomebodyon,youknow,
BreezerBeamerlookslike.OnlytheBeamer,theframecomes
notasuperbigincomeandyou’vegottowatchyourpennies.
down to here. There’s no seat post to it. So I took the seat
There’s a lot of money in these bikes. What is it aboutthis
postoutofhereandwhenIgivethebikeup,I’mtakingthis
stuffthatmakesitsoworthwhileputtingthatkindofmoney
withme.SoftRide.SoftRide—lookatthis.Doesthathave
into it?
some. . .see,Idon’thave. . .soit’slikehavingaregular
bike, but you still got the suspension. And I mean fully D: Well, I like biking and there isn’t any other way to do
suspended. that. That’s the cheapestI can do it.
I: So you got just as much control and everythingas . . . I: Huh?
D:Alotmore.Alotmore.ThefirsttimeIwascomingdown
D:ThatsamebikebyBreezerwouldbe,like,3,500dollars.
thehill,infactitwasthatbike.Seetheonestickingoutover
Yes.Hello.AndIspentlessthanathousand.SoIgotbasically
there? That’s got the Soft Ride on it, too. I was screaming
the same kind of ride, but for a third the price. And then I
downthehill. . .wherewasthat?OverbySkiMount.Over
do other things. Like the tires on there, those are 24-dollar
in Boalsburg. I was coming back from Whipple Dam. I’m
tires. Iwaited till they went on sale.Igotthembothfor24
coming down Fire Road. I didn’t see the damned pot hole.
dollars.So,youknow,there’sallkindsofwaysaroundand
I’m looking for Ron and Jay back there. I’m looking over
around stuff. And you just got to know what you wantand
my shoulder and I turn around and boom. And that front
figureoutawaytodoit.AndIenjoydoingthat.Theseare
wheel hit it and [makes sound], you know, and back out.
my interests. I focus it that way. It works.
Yes.IfIwouldn’thavehadthatonthere[whistles]Iwould
havelostit.Iwouldhavelostit.Imeanbad.Slidesideways When Ientered Don’strailerIwasstunnedtoseeanentire
or who knows what. wallfilledwithaudiovisualequipment.HeownsnineVCRs
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