'We're all in this together': Commodified notions of connection, care and community in brand responses to COVID-19

Sobande, Francesca ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4788-4099 2020. 'We're all in this together': Commodified notions of connection, care and community in brand responses to COVID-19. European Journal of Cultural Studies 23 (6) , pp. 1033-1037. 10.1177/1367549420932294

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Abstract

The current COVID-19 (coronavirus) global pandemic has resulted in a wave of advertising and marketing approaches that are based on commodified concepts of human connection, care and community in a time of crisis. At the core of many brands’ marketing messages – whether these be supermarket advertising campaigns or celebrity self-branding - is the notion that ‘we’re all in this together’. While it is true that the impact of COVID19 has affected the lives of many people around the world, not everyone is experiencing this crisis the same way, due to structural inequalities and intersecting oppressions. What is the relationship between COVID-19, capitalism and consumer culture? Who is the ‘we’ in the messages of ‘we’re all in this together’, and how might such messages mask distinct socio-economic disparities and enable institutions to evade accountability? This article examines sub-textual meanings connected to brand responses to COVID-19 which rely on an amorphous imagined ‘we’—and which ultimately may aid brands’ pursuit of productivity and profit, rather than symbolising support of and concern for people

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Journalism, Media and Culture
Publisher:	SAGE
ISSN:	1367-5494
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	28 May 2020
Date of Acceptance:	16 May 2020
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2023 06:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/131965

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