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Fetish, magic, marketing
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Fetish, magic, marketing

Éric J. Arnould, Julien Cayla and Delphine Dion
Anthropology Today, Vol.33(2), pp.28-32
01/04/2017

Abstract

This article identifies specific forms of fetishistic enchantments produced by practices culturally specific to modern consumer culture. The authors show that magical practices are constitutive of two fetishistic marketing constructs: the consumer and the human luxury brand. Marketing magic enacts relations between man and the transcendent by bringing consumer personas ‘to life’ and manifesting ideals of the beautiful in luxury. Marketing magic is a practice of power – non-rationalist strategies for resolving intractable social problems. Consumer ‘personas’ create the manageable consumer interlocutors for companies. Charismatic creative directors seem to evade the iron logic of commodity relationships via the magical conjuring of their own personas and of artful luxury.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Citation topics
6 Social Sciences
6.146 Anthropology
6.146.734 Cultural Transformation
Web of Science research areas
Anthropology
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