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Friday, April 22, 2016

The commodification of grief





Image result for cheerios rest in peace prince
After the death of Prince, many mourned the loss of an artist that was such a cultural icon. It took no time at all for consumerism to join the party as General Mills and 3M (both Minnesota-based companies) gave "tributes" to Prince by splashing purple all over their brand images. Both argue that their "advertisements" were intended to honor the deceased artist's life, especially as he is from the same state in which the two companies are respectively headquartered. However, a number of people saw the move as "tone-deaf" or in poor taste.
What do you think? How should companies honor fallen heroes without smacking of a backdoor advertising scheme, or is it possible at all?  COMMENT BELOW.

EDIT: Here is another great example: http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2016/04/22/homebase-twitter-account-wins-award-ill-thought-prince-tribute/#.VxpzrbPHna7.twitter



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2 comments:

  1. Malina OliverApril 24, 2016 at 3:42 AM

    I think if stores want to honor Prince, they should GIVE something to customers (rather than selling it), like a sample of one of his songs. This way, they aren't using Prince to get money, but rather GIVING something to their customers that will remind them of his life.

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  2. Jeff OliverApril 25, 2016 at 11:27 AM

    A good point. There is a complicated relationship between commodities and other aspects of the human experience. Businesses would do well to understand the scenarios in which people will be more likely to be motivated by commodities and "relational" goods, respectively. We are also finding in our research that different people are motivated by commodities vs. relational goods. This could be seen in the example about Prince by surveying Americans about their feelings relative to the play to associate their image with Prince after his death. Some percentage of Americans will see nothing wrong with what Cheerios and 3M did and others will be opposed to it. Knowing the time and place for commodities and relational goods in a business is essential.

    Thanks for the comment!

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