So I was thinking about my previous post, and of the connotations of power in advertising. I started going through what I've learned about power, and I remembered that Michel Foucault did quite a bit of thinking on the subject.
Most of my worthwhile education has revolved around international relations. A great deal of IR thinking has to do with the philosophy behind power and identity... (lightbulb) and so does the thinking behind good advertising! Over the next few weeks I will be writing about the implications of Foucault and Appiah on the advertising world (I'll probably draw on other philosophers as well but to start, I'll pick two favorites).
Specifically, I'll be looking at the two central pieces (in my view) of great brands:
- Power
- Identity
This should be fun. It will start as blog posts and finish as a standalone work to be filed under the "pages" portion of this site. If you're reading, I'd appreciate your comments.
Regarding the image above: Rene Magritte's La trahison des images (1928-1929) had a big impact on Foucault; in fact, the two corresponded with regularity. The idea that the image was instantly negated by the headline was instrumental to Foucault's understanding of knowledge and epistemology. Whether or not the image as I've edited it has any impact on the proceedings remains to be seen. Either way, I want to examine the interrelation of brands and identities, and how "Marketing 2.0" is changing the way we understand this relationship.
We're moving toward a future where marketers will say "They [the public] define my brand" instead of "I define my brand."