vienna

Elliott conducted a study on the ritual use of advertising. 492 It is about
the social use of the advertisement, and how commercials are transformed
into rituals based on language. Muniz and O’Guinn spoke of
rituals that are not detached from the relation to the brand. They also
introduced the term “brand community”:
“A brand community is a specialized, non-geographically bound
community, based on a structured set of social relationships among
admirers of a brand. It is specialized, because at its centre is a
branded good or service. Like other communities, it is marked
by a shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of
moral responsibility.” 493
In this context, the seasonal sale could become an important
tool for stablizing the relationship between the brand and the brand
community. The store makes a sacrifice to the brand community
twice every year. The periodical repetition and the mythological
dramatisation may be an emotionally important “religious” service to
the customer. A transcendent ritual of transformation from one fashion
into the next is accompanied by the “common meal” of the brand
community. This fits in well with Tom Peters’ tips on future marketing:
“Imagination, myth, ritual – the language of emotion – will effect
everything from our purchasing decisions to how well we work
with others. Companies will thrive on the basis of their stories and
myths. Companies will need to understand that their products are
less important than their stories.” 494
There is a difference between the way a story or a myth can
be related. Stories are a collection of facts, and the storyteller is
responsible for his narration. The speaker of a myth is not responsible
for its content. Mythical language is based on declarations like, “this
is not my story, I heard it somewhere else”. 495 This is the death of the
author, as Roland Barthes termed it. 496 In archaic cultures, the myth
had no origin; it was not invented by a person, and the shaman was
merely its transmitter. And this seems to be one of the few myths that
have remained in this world of individual brand stories, and none of
the fashion brands can make it their own. Marshall Sahlins contended
492 Ritson/Elliott (1999).
493 Muniz/O’Guinn (2001:412).
494 Peters (2001:34).
495 Sennett (1996:81).
496 Barthes (1977:142).
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