COMM 2360 1nd Edition Lecture 9Outline of Last Lecture I. Dominant MessagesII. Ad Creep III. Rise of Brand Culture IV. Living the BrandOutline of Current Lecture V. Living the Brand VI. Big Brands Colonizing Cultural Life Current LectureSeptember 10, 2014 Review: - Advertising’s dominant messages- brands are what’s left after transition from informational to consumer societyo 50% chance of being in info part of society (pushing pixel or pencils) o other 50% in service economy  make beds for info econ.Living in the Brand- brand is rhetorical negotiation o not something that’s out there- usually intimate and attached to our bodies  hard to separate who we are from the brand- it’s a signifier of our ID - product is secondary to brand - mode of identification over persuasion o a different kind of rhetoric o advertising system- system of rhetoric and persuasion- have to look at it as a changing mode of persuasion o if earlier ads gave you a list of why you should use toilet paper  1990s- managing a brand is not like a regular campaign- about telling a story, creating identities of people you want and negotiating identity o in order to move someone you have to convince them that they are a kind of person who would behave in a certain way - takes on a spiritual significance These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o not unlike a religion- it’s got saints, a god- a moral code, precepts and doctrines, gives life meaning infusing it with significance  ex. big brand- Nike, Gatorade, think of types of images attached to Gatorade in head - what does life center of brand look like? o athletes- connected intimately o you don’t just drink Gatorade so it replenishes your electrolytes-it gives you will to succeed-  sweat Gatorade- - image is a way of connecting Gatorade to spiritual essence Micky Mouse something- old project- street performance - took idea of brand as religion- did street preaching in front of Tate center- impeccably written- Jeppedo (Pinocchio) wishing on star- take Disney themed cherrios as communion etc Living the brand contd - contains its own universe of stories o explain how the world is meaningful/significant and ask people to come into story o invite you to be a thing - entices one to be a character in the story o most of us when we say like brands are essentially apportioning parts of our personality to be portions of the story  ex. LL Bean guy- personality intimately IDed with brand - has imperial ambitions (360 degrees)o should be possible for the big brands (sci deployed on pop) to fully immerse yourself in the brand o ex. LL Bean couples get away –  literally step into LL Bean universe  buy Ralph Lauren bronco- “Mindshare” and “cultural capital” o ex. golden arches are more recognizable than the Christian cross o look at everyone as a collective brain- put brain in front of us and decide mcds has big part of neocortex o ex. Nike has a big spot on brain as well- and then there’s smaller brands- competing for territory o advertise the hell out of brand so people recognize brand and have positive associations  if you have capital you might have money, leverage, freedom  capital- greek – means head- use it to describe something of worth o took investment to stamp onto collective brain but it’s paid off o ex. Nike swoosh- it’s worth about 7 billion dollars- not company/workers/shoes/teams- it’s just the idea of the swoosh-  it is what that swoosh is worth when it’s stamped on all of our brands- Coke logo is worth 30 billion dollars o an evaluation that is placed on the sign- recognizability y in brains of humans across the planet (less valuable to ppl in China though- even though recognizable) Harley Davidson example ads - from 1920- early ad for motorcycle o save time, save money—have lots of fun too o now ads are far less economical- instead it’s more imagistic and narrative based o group inclusion- yet herded “black sheep”  cowboys o Harley- noise  trademark- inefficient motor  signifying characters codify commercialism into religious doctrine- apostles creed  rhetoric of rebellion- tell you what to do but also asking you to rebel If you want a successful brand- you can’t invent it out of whole clothBig Brands; Colonizing Cultural Life - attach your brand to something that already exists- - people already rode motorcycles- seen so many Harley ads- that it’s hard to separate motorcyclefrom Harley from culture - Nike is Sports o colonized sports- o Phil Knight would tell he doesn’t run a shoe company- they run an athletic company- The Body Shop is Environmental Movement o rainforest is nice - Starbucks is public life o not just coffeeshop culture (already existed- but it ousted mom and pop shops) business plan that says we want to be the third space not home, not work etc people used to go coffeeshop- - started French/American revolutions o not thinking of community- have consumer object in front of you- - Sprite is Hip Hop- Coca-Cola is global togetherness - McDonald’s is Family - LL Bean is the Outdoors- De Beers is a lifelong intimate relationship - Pepsi is political activism - brands don’t just invent themselves= they find an area and colonize it- rewrite script