Branded utopia: desired futures, utopian function and brand connection

Abstract

We are all utopians. We all hold an image of a desired way of living in our minds. As cultural artifacts, brands educate what it is we desire and aspire for in our lives, such as the ideal body, house, relationship, family, friendships and society. This representation of brands, designed to inflame the desire for better, are used by marketers to encourage brand connection. Brand connection is a phenomena linked to key metrics of importance to marketers, such as brand loyalty. While marketing may be the foremost utopian influence in the contemporary world, there are relatively few investigations directly addressing utopianism in consumption literature (Sherry, 2014). To date, scholarship w..